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Photographic 

Sciences 

Corporation 


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empreinte. 

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at  de  haut  en  bas,  en  prenant  le  nombre 
d'images  n6cessaire.  Les  diagrammes  suivants 
illustrent  la  mithode. 


1 

2 

3 

4 

5 

6 

"  WK  UK  TIIK  FLAXXICL  SlIlKT  AND  TIIK  TXULAC  KKIi  I'.onT." 

Fionti>ijtiiiT. 


Through 
the 


Yukon  Gold  Diggings 

A  Narrative  of  Personal  Travel 


BY 


jOSIAH   KDVVARI)  SPURR 


in  is'i'ox 
KAS'JERN   iaiBI,lSHlN(;  COMPANY 

lycxj 


S3S 


NORTHFRN  AFFAIRS 

jRas 


*  NA~t'""'f    ---'>« 


Norf 


:    /   1365 

OTTA\?^A 


CorvRir.iiT,  1900 

by 

JOSIAII  EDWARD  SI'URR 


Preface, 


AS  ji  geologist  of  the  United  States  (ieologicjil 
Survey,  I  hud  the  good  fortune  to  he 
phiced  in  ciiarge  of  the  first  expedition  sent  hy 
tiiat  department  into  the  interior  of  Alaska. 
The  gold  diggings  of  the  Yukon  region  were  not 
then  known  to  the  world  in  general,  yet  to  those 
interested  in  mining  their  renown  had  come  in  a 
vague  way,  and  the  special  problem  with  which 
I  was  charged  was  their  investigation.  The  re- 
sults of  my  studies  were  emhodied  in  a  re|)ort 
entitled  :  "  (i eology  of  the  Yukon  Gold  Dis- 
trict," j)ul)lished  hy  the  (iovernment. 

It  was  during  my  travels  through  the  mining 
regions  that  the  Klondike  discovery,  which  sub- 
sequently turned  so  many  heads  throughout  all 
of  the  civilized  nations,  was  made,  (ieneral  con- 
ditions of  mining,  travelling  and  ])rospecting  are 
much  the  same  to-dav  as  thev  were  at  that  time, 
except  in  the  limited  districts  into  which  the 
flood  of  miners  has  poured.  ISIy  travels  in  Alaska 
have  been  extensive  since  the  journey  of  which 

this  work  is  a  record,  and  I  have  noted  the  same 

3 


I'KKFAVE. 


scones  tliat  are  lierein  ilescribed,  in  many  otlier 
jjarts  oC  tlie  vast  untruvclled  Territurv.  Jt  will 
take  two  or  three  decades  or  more,  to  make 
alterations  in  this  region  and  change  the  condi- 
ti(m  throughout. 

In  recording,  therefore,  the  scenes  and  hard- 
ships encounteretl  in  this  northern  country,  I 
describe  the  exj)eriences  of  one  who  to-day 
knocks  about  the  Yukon  region,  the  Co])j)er 
River  region,  the  Cook  Inlet  region,  the  Koyu- 
kuk,  or  the  Nome  District.  ^ly  aim  has  been 
throughout,  to  set  down  what  1  saw  and  en- 
countered as  fully  and  simply  as  possible,  and  I 
have  endeavored  to  keep  myself  from  sacrificing 
accuracy  to  pictures(jueness.  That  my  duties  led 
me  to  see  more  tlian  would  the  ordinary  travel- 
ler, I  trust  the  following  pages  will  bear  witness. 

Let  the  reader,  therefore,  when  he  linds  tedious 
or  unpleasant  passages,  remember  that  they  re- 
cord tedious  or  unpleasant  incidents  that  one 
who  travels  this  vast  region  cannot  escape,  as 
will  be  found  should  any  of  those  who  peruse 
these  pages  go  Tiiuouoii  thk  Yukon  Gold 
Dkigings. 

ArTHou. 


CONTENTS 


I.  Tlie  Ti ip  to  Dyta 

II.  Over  till' ("|iiIk(,ot  Pass 

"I.  Til..  Lakes  iii„l  t|„.  Yukon  to  K 

H'.  The  Foify  Mile  J)iyjri„„s 

^  .  The  American  Creek  DiKyinus 

Vi .  Tlie  IJircli  Creek  I)iK«iiiKs  . 

VI 1.  TIh'  My  nook  Cie(  k  DiKjrin^o^ 

VI 11  Tile  Lower  Yukon 

IX  St.  .Mieliael's  and  San  lYaneisco 


oi 


t.v  Mik. 


."Af;E 
!) 

;r» 

art 

um 

\.Ai 
Uil 

^»(i4 


ILLUSTUATIONS 


■fwi  Alaskan  (niualojjical  Tm- 

Hitoon,  L(,r,|  of  Alaska  .         '         "         "         ' 

i'.Min  Canal  .  "         '         "         •         • 

AIn.skaii  Wonu-n  an<i  CluM,-,.,,'  "        '        ' 

Alaskan  Indians  an<l  irons*. 

H».«<,tinKtheWl.iu.l|o,sc.K«,.i.|s    ' 
Talking' it  Over 

^yT^":yr'''': •"■•^""■■■""mv,,,..,., 

^>Hslung(,rav(.I  in  Slnicc-Uoxes 

"Tinokii.K-„j{,„,Hj,,„.,.^,,,, 

A  "Cache"     . 

Native  J)<)jr.s 

On  the  Tminp  AHain 

llojj'eniJnnetiun  Roa<I-li<,„He 

On  H(»|j;'t.ni  (Jiilch 

t'lisUm  House  at  Cir,.|,.cj,v 

TIioHreak-npofih,  leeontheVn 
A  lukon  Canoe 

IiKlian  I'isli-tiajw 
In  a  Tent  HeneatJ.  Spr.a .^  t,,,:, 
I  l.ree-|,a,,h  Skin  IUkU,  or  J!i,|a.  ka 
Eskimo  J|o,i,s,.sat.St.  Miehael's 
A  Native  Ih 


on 


»oi\vav 


The  Captured  Whah 


Tl 
JI.  I 


"'  author  wishes  u 


V.W.F. 

itispinc 

I'J 

'21 

:ti 

40 
iVA 

}»:{ 

107 
l.U 
1.57 
110 

l.-.:{ 

Km 
171 
177 

im 

2V.I 
'J-.iO 

'JIM 

'Mr, 
'2m 

:.'71 


^'•-;ks,F,C.Seh,ad.;;'A:7 


States  (ieoh)»ieai 


••xpn-ss  his  in.h'l.le<lness  t<.  M 


•'ssis.  A. 


Survey,  for  th 


"•^••'•l.v  Mnitii.  and  the  IniU'd 
'  "«f  of  pli<.t<..rai,hs.  ' 


Through 
The  Yukon  Gold  Diggings. 


Bdorc    the    Klondike   Discov 


ery. 


I 


CIIAI'T.KR  I. 

THE   TIJIl'   T',    |,v,.:,^. 

was  in  isiMl,  lu'loro  tlu'  Klondii.:,.  | 
were   seated  at   tlie    table   of 


)0()in.    AVe 


steajiier,    wliieli   plied    from    Sc 
ain()n«r  the  thousand  wonderlid 
of  the  Inland  l*j(ssn«<e.     It 
with  brilliant 


speetacles,   throimh  i 


an   excursion 

little    northward 

mountain  islands 

was  a  journey  replete 


^•11  njanv   juctiir 


t'sque  fjords  from  whoso  unfathomable  d 
l>are  steep  elilfs  rise  to  di/.zy  heights,  uldl 


epths  t 


l(! 


tl 


lem   tund)le  in    disorderly  lovel 
pure  as  snow,  leaping  from  eliir  to  cliff 


o  over 


wild 


ness. 


lil 


iness  cataracts 


in  vcrv 


k-e 


spirits  of  nature 
We  iiad  just 


oinl)o(Ii,M(>nts    <,f    the    untamed 
passed  gueen  Charlotte  Sound 


10    Tiinnvaii  the  rik'ni^  gold  niaaixGs. 

wliei'o  tlie  swells  from  the  ()j)on  sou  roll  in  (hir- 
ing- rough  wetithoi',  and  iiuiny  ])assengers  wore 
appearing  at  the  table  with  the  pale  face  and 
deliant  look  which  mark  the  unfortunate  who 
has  newlv  committed  the  ci'ime  of  seasickness. 
It  only  enhanced  the  former  stiffness,  which  we 
of  the  Hannel  shirt  and  the  unblacked  boot 
had  striven  in  vain  to  break — for  these  were  peo- 
ple who  were  gathered  from  the  corners  of  the 
earth,  and  each  individual,  or  each  tiny  grouj), 
seemed  to  have  some  invisible  negative  attrac- 
tion for  all  the  rest,  like  the  little  molecules 
which,  scientists  imagine,  repel  their  neighbors 
to  the  very  verge  of  explosion.  They  were  all 
sight-seers  of  experience,  come,  some  to  do 
Alaska,  some  to  rest  from  mysterious  labors, 
some — but  who  shall  fatlunn  at  a  glance  an  ap- 
j)arently  dull  lot  of  apparent  snobs?  At  any 
rate,  one  would  have  thought  the  everlasting 
hills  would  have  shrunk  back  and  the  stolid 
glaciers  blushed  with  vexation  af  the  patronizing 
way  with  which  they  were  treated  in  general. 
It  was  de])ressing — even  P^uropean  tourists' 
wordy  enthusiasm  over  a  mud  puddle  or  a  dung- 
hill would  have  been  preferable. 


Till':   TRIP   TO   Di'KA. 


11 


There  are  along  tliis  route  all  the  beiielits  oi"  a 
sea  trip— the  air,  the  rest— with  none  of  its  dis- 
advantages.    So   steep  are  the  shores  tliat  the 
steamer  may  often  lie  alongside  of  them  when 
she  stops  and  run   her  gang-plank   out  on  the 
rocks.     These  stops  show  the  traveller  the  little 
human  life  there  is  in   this   vast  and   desohite 
country.     There  are  viUages  of  the  native  tribes, 
with  dwellings  built  in  imitation  of  the  common 
American  fashion,  in  front  of  which  rise  great 
totem  poles,   carved   and    painted,   rei)resenting 
grinning  ami  grotes(|ue  animal-like,  or  human- 
like, or  dragon-like  iigures,  one  piled  on  toi)  «jf 
the  other  up  to  the  very  to^)  of  the  column.     A 
sort  of  ancestral  tree,  these  are  said  to  be,— only 
to  be  understood  with  a  knowledge  of  the  sign 
symbolism  of  these  people— telling  of  their  tribe 
and  lineage,  of  their  great-grandfather  the  bear, 
and  their  great-grandmother  the  wolf  or  such 
strange  things. 

The  people  themselves,  with  their  heavy  faces 
and  their  imitation  of  the  European  dress -lor 
the  tourist  and  the  prospector  have  brought 
prosperity  and  the  thin  veneer  of  civilization  to 
these  southernmost  tribes  of  Alaska— with  their 


An  Alaskan  (!KNKAL(Kii(AL  Trfk, 


12 


THi:   TRW   TO   DYE  A. 


13 


Hauiin^^  neckercliic^f  or  hejul-kcrcliief  of  red  and 
yellow  silk  lliut  the  silk-worm  had  no  part  in 
inakin<^,  Init  only  the  cunning  Yankee  weaver, 
paddle  out  in  boats  dug  I'roni  the  great  ever- 
green trees  that  cover  the  hills  so  thickly,  and 
l)ring  articles  uuule  of  sealskin,  or  skilfully 
woven  baskets  nuide  out  of  the  libres  of  spruce 
roots,  to  sell  to  the  ])assengers.  Or  the  steamer 
may  stoj)  at  a  little  handet  of  white  pioneers, 
where  there  is  iishintr  for  halii)Ut,  with  perhaps 


some  mininu'  for  irold  on  a  small  scale;  then  tl 


10 


1 


)ractical  men  of  the  partv,  who  have  hitherto 


been  bored,  can  incpiire  whether  the  industry 
pays,  and  c()mtem[)late  in  their  suddenly  awak- 
ened fancies  the  [)ossibilities  of  a  halibut  syndi- 
cate, or  another  Tread  well  gold  mine.  So  the 
artist  gets  his  colors  and  forms,  the  business  man 
sees  wonderful  })()ssibilities  in  this  shockingly 
unrailroaded  wilderness,  the  tired  may  rest  body 
and  mind  in  the  perfect  peace  and  freedom  from 
the  human  element,  old  ladies  may  sleep  and 
young  ones  may  flirt  meantimes. 

All  this  wouhl  seem  to  prove  that  the  passen- 
gers wei'e  neither  professional  nor  business  men, 
nor  young  nor  old  ladies — part  of  which  ap[»eai'ed 


n      THROUGH   THE   YUKON   GOLD   niiiiilNUS. 


to  me  manifestly,  and  the  rest  probably  untrue; 
or  else  that  they  were  all  enthusiastic  and  inter- 
ested  in  the  dumb  IJritish-American  way,  which 
sets  down  as  vulgar  any  betrayal  of  one's  ^qU  to 
one's  neighbors. 

Some  one  at  the  table  wearily  and  waiilv  in- 
(j[uired  when  ve  should  get  to  the  JVIuir  glacier, 
on  which  point  we  of  the  flannel-shirted  brother- 
hood were  informed ;  and  incidentally  we  re- 
marked that  we  intended  to  leaye  the  festivities 
before  that  time,  in  »Iuneau. 

"  Oh  my ! "  said  the  sad-faced,  middle-aged  lady 
with  circles  about  her  eyes.  "  Stay  in  Juneau  ! 
I  low  dreadful !  Are  you  going  as  missionaries, 
or,"  here  she  wrestled  for  an  idea,  "or  are  you 
simply  going." 

"  We  are  going  to  the  Yukon,"  we  answered, 
"  from  Juneau.  You  may  have  heard  of  the  gold 
liehls  of  the  Yukon  country."  And  strange  and 
sweet  to  say,  at  this  later  day,  no  one  had  heard 
of  the  gold  fields — that  was  before  they  had  be- 
come the  rage  and  the  fashion. 

But  the  whole  table  warmed  with  int(!rest — 
they  were  as  lively  busy  bodies  as  other  ]>eop!e 
und  we  were  the  fii'st  solution  to  the  pnjblems 


Tin:   TJUl'   TO    DYEA. 


15 


'which  tliey  had  been  putting  to  themselves  con- 
ceniing  each  other  since  the  beginning  of  the 
trip.     Thei'e  was  a  fire  of  small  (juestions. 

"How  interesting!"  said  an  elderly  young 
hidy,  who  sat  opposite.  "  I  suppose  you  will  have 
all  kinds  of  experiences,  just  ronylnny  it;  and 
will  vou  take  vour  food  with  vou  on — er — wag- 
ons — or  will  you  dei)en(l  on  the  farmhouses  along 
the  wav  ?  Onlv,"  she  added  hastilv,  detecting  a 
certain  gleam  in  the  eye  of  her  vis-a-vis,  "  1  ditln't 
think  there  were  many  farndiouses." 

"  They  will  ride  horses,  Jane,"  said  the  bluff 
old  gentleman  who  was  evidently  her  father,  so 
authoritatively  that  I  dared  not  disimte  him — 
"everybody  does  in  that  countiy."  Then,  as 
some  glanced  out  at  the  })recipitous  mountain-side 
and  dense  tind)er,  he  added,  "  Of  course,  not  here. 
In  the  interior  it  is  flat,  like  our  plains,  and  one 
rides  on  little  horses, — I  think  they  call  them 
kayaks — I  have  read  it,"  he  said,  looking  at  me 
fiercely.  Then,  as  we  were  silent,  he  continued, 
nuji'e  condescendingly,  "  I  have  roughe<l  it  my- 
self, when  I  was  young.  We  used  to  go  hunting 
every  fall  in  Pennsylvania,  when  I  was  a  bov, 
and  once  two  of  us  went  off  tt>gether  and  were 


Ki      TlinoriUI   THE    Yl'KOX   COLD    DlCiHSCS. 

gone  a  week,  just  riding  ovei*  tlio  roiigiiest  coiiii- 
trv  roculs  uikI  into  the  inouiitiiius  on  lioisobiuli. 
If  our  cotrcc  hud  not  run  out  wo  would  liavo 
staved  longer 


5» 


(( 


Hut  isn't  it  dreadfully  cold  up  thoi-e  ? "  said 
the  sweet  brown-eyed  girl,  with  a  look  in  her 
eyes  that  wakened  in  our  hearts  the  fii'st  momen- 
tary rebellion  against  our  exile.  "And  the  wihl 
animals  !     You  will  suffer  so." 

"  1  used  to  know  an  ex})lorer,"  said  the  business 
man  with  the  green  necktie,  who  had  been  dragged 
to  the  shrine  of  Nature  by  his  wife,  lie  had 
brought  along  an  entire  copy  of  the  New  York 
Screcwier,  and  buried  himself  all  day  long  in  its 
parti-colored  mysteries.  "  He  told  me  many 
things  that  might  be  useful  to  you,  if  I  could  re- 
member them.  About  spearing  whales — for  food, 
you  know — you  will  have  to  do  a  lot  of  that.  I 
wish  I  could  have  you  meet  him  sometime ;  he 
could  tell  you  much  more  than  I  can.  Somebody 
said  there  was  gold  up  there.  AVas  it  you  ? 
Well  don't  get  frozen  up  and  (b-ift  across  the 
Pole,  like  Nansen,  just  to  get  whei'e  the  gold  is. 
But  1  supi)ose  the  nuggets ■"'' 

"  Let's  go  on  deck,  ,Iane,"  said  tiie  old  gentle- 


Tin:  Tin  I'  TO  I  ))•!:.{, 


17 


iMsm  ; — then  to  us,  politely  hut  linnly,  "  1  have 
Imm'h  uiucli  inti'i'estnl  in  your  account,  and  shall 
ho  glad  to  hear  more  later."  We  had  not  said 
anvthin<jr  vet. 

AVe  diseuj harked  at  Juneau.  We  had  watched 
the  shore  for  nearly  the  whole  trip  without  per- 
ceiving a  rift  in  the  mountains  through  which  it 
looked  feasihle  to  pass,  and  at  .luneau  the  outlook 
or  uj)look  was  no  better.  Those  who  have  been 
to  .luneau  (and  they  are  now  many)  know  how 
slight  and  almost  insecure  is  its  foothohl ;  how  it 
is  situate<l  on  an  irregular  hillv  area  which  looks 
like  a  great  landslide  from  the  mountains  tower- 
ing above,  whose  sides  are  so  sheer  that  the 
wagon  road  which  winds  uj)  the  gulch  into  Silver 
I)OW  basin  is  for  some  distance  in  the  nature  of  a 
bridge,  resting  on  wooden  supports  an<l  hugging 
close  to  the  steep  rock  wall.  The  excursionists 
tarried  a  little  here,  buying  furs  at  extortionate 
|)rices  from  the  natives,  fancy  baskets,  and  little 
ornaments  which  are  said  to  be  made  in  Connec- 
ticut. 

In  the  hotel  the  proprietor  arrived  at  our  busi- 
ness in  the  shortest  possible  time,  by  the  method 
of  direct  (piestioning.     lie  was  fr<jm  Colorado,  I 


• 


18      TlUiOUUn   THE   YVKON  U(HA)  DIUUISUS. 

jud^^ed — all  the  men  1  have  known  that  look  like 
him  come  from  Colorado.  There  was  also  a 
heavily  bearded  man  dressed  in  ill-fitting  store- 
clothes,  and  with  a  necktie  which  had  the  strang- 
est air  of  being  ill  at  ease,  who  was  lounging 
near  bv,  smoking  and  spitting  on  the  floor  con- 
templatively. 

"  Here,  Pete,"  said  the  proprietor,  "  I  want  you 
to  meet  these  gentlemen."  He  i)ronounced  the 
last  word  with  such  a  peculiar  intonation  that  one 
felt  sure  he  used  it  as  synonomous  with  "  tender- 
feet"  or  "  paperlegs "  or  other  terms  by  which 
Alaskans  designate  greenhorns. 

I  had  rather  had  him  call  me  "this  feller." 
"  He  says  he's  goin'  over  the  Pass,  an'  maybe 
you  can  help  each  other."  Pete  smiled  genially 
and  crushed  my  hand,  looking  me  full  in  the  eye 
the  while,  doubtless  to  see  how  I  stood  the  or- 
deal. "  Pete's  an  old  timer,"  continued,  the 
hotel-man,  "one  of  the  Yukon  pioneers.  Been 
over  that  Pass — how  many  times,  Pete,  three 
times,  ain't  it  ?  " 

"  Dis  makes  dirt  time,"  answered  Pete,  with 
a  most  unique  dialect,  which  nevertheless  Avas 
Scandinavian.     "  Virst  time,  me  an'  Frank  Dens- 


THE   TRIP   TO   DYEA. 


lit 


more,  Wliiskv  Bill  un'  de  otUlci'  bovs.  Dat  was 
summer  som  we  wusIrmI  on  Stewart  River,  on'y 
us— IVtc'lied  out  brittv  i>eek  sack  <lat  year — eii  ?" 
Ife  liJid  a  curious  way  of  retaining  the  Scandi- 
navian relative  pronoun  ximi  in  iiis  Kn«,Mish,  in- 
stead of  iiiho  or  that. 

"  Vou  bet,  JVte,"  answered  the  other,  "  you 
painted  the  town  ;  done  your  (bity  hy  us." 

"Ja,"  said  Pete,  "blewed  it  in;  mcjstly  in 
'Frisco.  Was  king  dat  winter  till  dust  was  all 
been  sitent.  Saw  tings  dat  was  goot ;  saw  udder 
tings  ^^■as  too  bad,  efen  for  Alaskan  miner.  One 
time  enough.  I  tink  dese  cities  kind  of  i)ad  fer 
people.  So  I  get  out.  Sez  T, — 'I  jes' got  time 
to  get  to  Lake  Bennett  by  time  ice  breaks,'  so  I 
light  out."  He  smiled  happily  as  he  said  this, 
as  a  man  might  talk  of  going  home,  then  con- 
tinued, "Den  secon'  dime  I  get  a  glaim  Forty 
Mile,  Miller  Greek, — dat's  really  Sixty  Mile,  but 
feller  gits  dere  f'm  Forty  Mile.  Had  a  pardner, 
but  he  kvent  down  to  Birch  Greek,  den  I  work 
my  glaim  alone." 

He  })ut  his  hand  down  in  his  trousers  pocket 
and  brought  up  a  large  flat  angular  piece  of  gold, 
two    inches    long;    it    had    particles   of   (juartz 


•J(» 


Tinanan  rni:  ri  hoy  aoij)  j)j<nij.\(.s. 


scattorcd  tlii'<)U»^li,  ami  was  in  places  nisly  with 
iron,  l)iit  was  mostly  sinootli  and  showed  tl;o 
wcarin*,^  it  must  have  had  in  his  |>oeket.  lio 
shoved  the  vellow  hiini)  into  mv  hand.  "  Dat 
iui^«i'et  was  de  biggest  in  my  glaini  dat  J  I'onnd  ; 
anodei'  Teller  he  washed  over  tailin's  I'm  my 
glaim  et'ter,  an'  he  got  bigger  nnggets,  lie  says, 
hut  I  tinks  he's  dam  liar.  Anyhow,  1  get 
little  sack  an'  I  went  down  'Frisco,  an'  1  blewed 
it  in  again.'    Kow  I  go  back  once  more." 

We  talked  awhile  and  iinally  agreed  to  make 
the  trip  to  Foi'ty  Mile  together,  since  we  were 
all  bound  to  this  [)lace,  and  Pete,  unlike  most 
miners  and  prosjjcctors,  had  no  "  pardner."  We 
were  soon  engaged  in  making  the  rounds  of  the 
shops,  laying  in  our  sui)plies — beans,  bacon, 
dried  fruit,  flour,  sugar,  cheese,  and,  most  pre- 
cious of  all,  a  bucket  of  strawberry  jam.  AVe 
made  up  our  minds  to  revel  in  jam  just  as  long 
as  we  were  able,  even  if  we  ended  u})  on  plain 
flour  three  times  a  dav.  For  a  drink  we  took 
tea,  which  is  almost  universally  used  in  Alaska, 
instead  of  coffee,  since  a  certain  weight  of  it  will 
last  as  long  as  many  times  the  same  weight  of 
cott'ee :  moreover,  there  is  some  (puility  in   this 


Tin:  Tinr  m  i>yi:.\. 


31 


l(('V('rii;^(;  wliicli  innkcs  it  pai'litularly  iulaptc*!  to 
the  viii<'i'oiis  cliiiiiitc  and  coMdititnis  (•!'  this  iioi'th- 
crn  ((tiiMtrv.  Mi'ii  u  lio  liavf  iirvur  usi-d  lea  ac- 
i|iiii'(;  a   I'ondncss  Uiv  it  in  Alaska,  and  will  di'iid{ 


fPi  I  f9m<    fpiiaafBi  ■ 


^-     :\-r^ 


A'    ^    i.-i 


iP^^^-^^^M^ 


I'.AcoN,  I,(ii{i)  OK  Alaska. 


vast  quantities,  especially  iti  the  winter.  The 
Russians,  themselves  the  greatest  tea-drinkers  of 
all  European  nations,  long  ago  introduced 
'^Tschai"  to  the  Alaskan  natives;  and  thrcugii- 


I 


i 


!»!>    Tiih'orair  the  vikox  holp  Diaaixas. 

out  the  coimtrv  tlicv  will  lu'g  tor  it  from  every 
white  inaii  tl»ey  iiiect,  or  will  travel  Imndretls  of 
miles  and  barter  tlieir  furs  to  «»l)tain  it. 

Concernin*,^  tin;  amount  of  supplies  it  is  neces- 
sary to  take  on  a  trip  like  ours,  it  may  be  re- 
marked that  three  pounds  of  solid  food  to  each 
num  per  day,  is  liberal.  As  to  the  proportion, 
no  constant  estimate  can  be  made,  men's  appe- 
tites varying  with  the  nature  of  the  articles  in 
the  rations  and  their  temporary  tastes.  On  this 
occasion  J*eto  j)icked  out  the  sui)plies,  laying  in 
what  he  judged  to  be  enough  of  each  article :  but 
it  a})peared  afterwards  that  a  man  may  be  an  ex- 
])erienced  pioneer,  and  yet  never  have  solved  the 
j)roblem  of  reasonably  accurate  rations,  for  some 
articles  were  soon  exhausted  on  our  trip,  while 
others  lasted  throughout  the  summer,  after 
which  we  were  obliged  to  bequeath  the  remain- 
der to  the  natives.  Camp  kettles,  and  frying- 
})ans,  of  course,  Avere  in  the  outfit,  as  well  as 
axes,  boatbuilding  tools,  whip-saw,  draw-shave, 
chisels,  hammers,  nails,  screws,  oakum  and  pitch. 
It  was  our  plan  to  build  a  boat  on  the  lakes 
which  are  the  source  of  the  Yukon,  felling  the 
spruce  trees,  and  then  with  a  whip-saw  slicing  off 


TUK  riiir  7v>  7)17;  I. 


2:1 


«i 


hoards,  wliicli  wIhmi  jmt  toncthei'  would  carry 
us  down  tlio  river  to  the  gold  diggings, 

For  our  personal  us<>  w«>  had  a  single  small 
tent,  A-sha|»ed,  hut  with  half  of  on«'  of  tla^ 
largo  slanting  sides  cut  out,  so  that  it  could  he 
elevated  like  a  curtain,  and,  heing  secured  at  the 
corners  hy  poles  or  tied  hv  ropes  to  trees,  nuule 
an  additional  shelter,  whiles  it  opened  up  the  in- 
terior of  the  tent  to  the  fresh  air  or  the  warmth 
of  the  camp-fire  outside.  lUankets  for  sleej)ing, 
and  ruhher  hlan'.ets  to  lay  next  to  the  ground  to 
keep  out  the  wet ;  the  hest  mos(puto-netting  or 
"hol)inet"of  hexagonal  mesh,  and  stout  gaunt- 
leted  cavalry  gloves,  as  protection  against  the 
mosquitoes.  For  perscmal  attire,  anything. 
Dress  on  the  frontier,  ahove  all  in  Alaska,  is 
always  varied,  picturesque,  and  unconventional. 
Flannel  or  woollen  shirts,  of  course,  are  univer- 
sal;  and  for  foot  gear  the  heavy  laced  hoot  is 
the  best. 

As  usual,  we  were  led  by  the  prospective  ter- 
rors of  cold  water  in  the  lakes  and  streams  to 
invest  in  rubber  loots  reaching  to  the  hip,  which, 
however,  did  not  })rove  of  such  use  as  antici- 
pated.    We   had   brought    with   u ,  canvas   biigs 


24     Tiinoraii  Tin-:  yvkox  aoLi)  DKiaLXus. 


designed  for  pa  eking,  or  earrving  loads  on  tlie 
back,  of  a  model  long  used  in  the  Lake  Superior 
woods.  They  were  pi'ovided  with  suitable  sti'a})s 
for  the  shoulders,  and  a  broad  one  for  the  top  of 
the  head,  so  that  the  toiler,  bending  over,  migiit 
su|)|)or.t  a  large  part  of  the  load  by  the  aid  of  his 
rigid  neck.  These  we  utilized  also  as  rece})tacles 
for  our  clothes  and  other  personal  articles. 

Other  men  were  in  Juneau  also,  bound  for  the 
Yukon, — not  like  the  hordes  that  the  Klondike 
brought  up  later  from  the  States,  many  of  whom 
turned  back  before  even  crossing  the  passes,  but 
small  i)arties  of  determined  men.  We  ran  ui)on 
them  here  and  there.  In  the  hotel  we  sat  down 
at  the  table  with  a  self-contained  man  with  a 
suggestion  of  recklessness  or  carelessness  in  his 
face,  and  soon  found  that  he  was  bound  over  the 
same  route  as  ourselves,  on  a  newspa})er  mission. 
Danlon,  as  we  may  call  him,  had  brought  his 
manservant  with  him,  like  the  Englishman  he 
was.  lie  was  a  great  traveller,  and  full  of  inter- 
esting anecdotes  of  Afghanistan,  or  IJornoo,  or 
s(mie  other  of  the  earth's  corners.  He  had  en- 
gaged to  go  with  him  a  friend  of  Pete's,  another 
pioneer,   Cooper    by    name,   short,    blonde   and 


'; 


I? 


^ 


,r^ 


THK   TRII'   TO   DYE  A,  o- 

pou-erfnlly  built.  P.etwcon  us,  ue  arranged  tor 
ii  tun-  to  take  us  the  liundred  miles  of  ^vatel■ 
whicii  still  lay  between  us  and  Dyea,  where  the 
land  journey  begins;  after  which  transaction, 
we  sat  down  to  eat  our  last  dinner  in  civilization. 
How  tearfully,  almost,  we  remarked  that  this 
was  the  last  plum-pudding  we  sheiild  have  for 
many  a  moon  I 

AVe    sailed,   or    rather    steamed   away,   from 
Juneau  in   the  evening.     Our  tug  had  been  de- 
signed for  freight,  and  had  not  been  altered  in 
the  slightest  degree  for  the  accommodation  of 
passengers.     Her  Hoor  si)ace,  too,  was  liuiited,  so 
that  while  ten  or  twelve  men  might  have  made 
themselves  very  comfortable,  the  iifty  or  sixty 
who  finally  appeared  on  board  found  liard  work 
to  dispose  of  themselves   in  any  fashion.     She 
had  been  origifially  engaged  for  our  two  parties, 
l>iit   new    pasengers   continually    applied,   who, 
from  the  nature  of  things,  could  ha.-dly  be  re- 
fused.    So  the  motley  crowd  of  strangers  hud- 
dled together,  the  engines  began  clanldng,  and 
the  lights  of  Juneau  soon  dropp,.,!  out  of  sight, 
as  we  steamed  up  Lynn  Canal  under  the  shadow' 
of  the  giant  mountains. 


20    Tiiuovan  Tni<:  vrKox  hold  Diaaisas. 


Our  fellow-iKisseiigers  were  mostly  ])i'<>spec- 
tors ;  netu'ly  all  iicwcouilm's,  as  we  could  see  by 
the  light  of  the  lantern  which  hung  up  in  the 
bare  apartment  whei'c  we  wei'e.  They  had  their 
luggage  and  outfit  with  them,  which  they  i)iled 
up  and  sat  or  sle})t  on,  to  make  sure  they  would 
not  lose  it.  There  were  men  with  grey  beards 
and  strap[)ing  boys  with  down  on  their  chins ; 
white  handed  men  and  those  whose  huge  horny 
palms  showed  a  life  of  toil ;  all  strange,  uneasy, 
and  quiet  at  first,  but  soon  they  began  to  talk 
confidentially,  as  men  will  whom  chance  throws 
together  in  strange  places. 

There  was  a  Catholic  priest  bound  to  his 
mission  among  the  Eskimos  on  the  lower  Yukon, 
— calm,  patient,  sweet-tempered,  and  cheerful  of 
s})eech ;  and  near  Iiim  was  a  noted  Alaskan  pio- 
neer and  trader,  bound  on  some  wild  tiip  or 
other  alone.  There  Avas  another  Alaskai'. — one 
of  those  who  settle  down  and  take  native  women 
as  mates  and  are  therefore  somewhat  scoi'n fully 
called  "squaw-men"  ;  he  had  been  to  Juneau  as 
the  countryman  visits  the  metro])olis,  and  had 
brought  back  with  him  abundant  evidence  of  the 
worthlessness  of  the  no-li(|Uor  laws  of  Alaska,  in 


f' 


TJU:   Tlill'   TO  DYE  A. 


27 


*.  'i 


the  sliiipo  of  a  lordly  drunk,  and  tlie  material  for 
many  more,  in  a  largo  demijohn,  which  he 
guarded  carefully.  The  conversation  among 
this  crowd  was  of  the  directest  sort,  as  it  is  al- 
ways on  the  frontier. 

"  Where  are  yc/iT  goin',  panhier?  Prospeclin\ 
I  reckon  ?  " 

Then  inquiries  as  to  what  each  could  tell  the 
otiier  concerning  the  conditions  of  tiie  hind  we 
were  to  explore,  mostly  unknown  to  all :  and 
straightway  Pete  and  ('oo[)er  were  constituted 
authorities,  by  virtue  of  their  })revious  experi- 
ence, and  were  listened  to  with  great  deference 
by  the  rest.  The  night  was  not  calm,  and  the 
little     craft    swashed     monotonouslv    into    the 

x.' 

waves.  One  bv  one  the  travellers  hiv  down  on 
the  bare  dusty  Hoor  and  slept;  and  so  limited 
was  the  room  that  the  last  found  it  difficult  to 
find  a  place. 

Glancing  around  to  find  a  vacant  nook  I  was 
struck  with  the  picturesipieness  of  the  scene. 
Under  the  lantern  the  last  talkers — the  Catholic 
priest  in  a  red  sweater,  smoking  a  bent  pipe,  the 
professional  traveller  and  b(M)k-maker,  and 
another  Englishman  with  smooth  face  and  oily 


In 


I 


>i 


i] 


2H    THiiorair  the  yukon  hold  diuuings. 


t 


manners, — wore  discussing  matters  with  as  much 
reserve  and  decorum  as  tliev  would  in  a  draw- 
ing-room.  Around  them  hiy  stretched  out,  over 
the  floor,  under  the  table,  and  even  on  it,  mot- 
ley-clad men,  breathing  heavily  or  staring  with 
wide  fixed  eyes  overhead.  The  pioneer  had 
gone  to  sleep  lying  on  his  back  and  was  snoring 
at  intervals,  but  by  a  physical  feat  hard  to 
understand,  retained  'lis  quid  of  tobacco,  which 
he  chewed  languidly  through  it  all.  The  only 
space  1  could  find  was  in  a  narrow  passageway 
leading  to  the  pilot-house.  Here  I  coiled  my- 
self, hugging  closely  to  the  wall,  but  it  was  dark 
and  throughout  the  night  I  was  awakened  by 
heavy  boots  accidentally  placed  on  my  body  or 
head  ;  3'et  I  Avas  too  sleep}'  to  hear  the  apologies 
and  straightway  slept  again. 

It  was  natural,  under  the  circumstances,  that 
all  should  be  early  risers,  and  we  were  raven- 
ously hungry  for  the  breakfast  which  was  tardily 
prepared.  The  only  table  was  covered  with  oil- 
cloth, and  was  calculated  for  four,  but  about  eight 
managed  to  crowd  around  it:  yet  with  all  })os- 
sible  haste  the  last  had  breakfast  about  noon. 
AVe  sat  down  where  a  momentary  o[)ening  was 


It. 

si 


il 


THE   TJiir   TU   DYKA. 


29 


off e red  at  the  third  or  fourth  sitting.  A  inonient 
hiter  a  couple  of  prospectors  appeared  who  ap- 
parently had  counted  on  pUices,  and  the  hungry 
stomach  of  one  of  them  prompted  some  very 
audible  mutterings  to  the  effect  that  all  men 
were  born  free  and  equal,  and  he  was  as  good  as 
any  one.  The  priest  immediately  got  ui),  and 
with  sincere  kindness  offered  his  seat,  which  so 
overcame  the  man  with  shame  that  he  politely 
refused  and  retired  ;  but  the  rest  of  us  insisted 
on  crowdinii'  together  and  makinjj:  room  for  him. 
And  for  the  remainder  of  the  trip  a  more  punc- 
tiliously polite  individual  than  this  same  [)ros- 
pector  could  not  be  found. 

After  each  round  of  eaters,  the  tin  plates  and 
cups  and  the  dingy  black  knives  and  forks  were 
seized  by  a  busy  dishwasher,  who  performed  a 
rapid  hocus-pocus  over  them,  in  which  a  tiny 
dishpan  lilled  with  hot  water  that  came  linally 
to  have  the  ai)i)earance  and  consistency  of  a 
hodge-podge,  played  an  important  [)art ;  then 
they  were  skillfully  sliyed  on  to  the  tal)le  again. 
1  looked  at  my  j)late.  Swimming  in  the  shallow 
111m  of  dish-water,  were  Hakes  of  beans,  shreds 
of  corned-beef  and  streaks  of  apple-sauce,  which 


•II 


« ', 


i 


M)      TIIROUail   THE    YUKON  GOLD   I)laclL\U,S. 


took  me  Inick  in  fancy  to  all  tlio  diH'orent  tables 
that  had  eaten  before :  the  boat  was  swaying 
heavily  and  1  gulped  down  my  stomach  before  1 
passed  the  plate  to  the  dishwasher  and  sufj^gc.'sted 
wiping,  lie  was  a  very  young  man,  remarkably 
dashing,  like  tlie  hero  of  a  dime  novel,  lie  was 
especially  })rotlcient  in  profanity  and  kept  u]^  a 
I'unning  lire  of  insults  on  the  cook.  He  took  the 
plate  and  eyed  me  scornfully,  witheringly. 

"  Seems  to  me  some  tenderfeet  is  mighty  per- 
tickler,"  said  he,  with  a  very  evident  })ersonal 
api)lication,  then  swabbed  out  the  plate  with 
a  towel,  the  sight  of  which  made  me  turn  and 
stare  at  the  spruce-clad  mountain-sides,  in  a  des- 
perate effort  to  elevate  my  mind  and  my  stonuich 
above  trifles. 

"  This  is  no  place  for  a  white  man,"  said  a 
pros))ector  who  had  been  staring  out  of  the  door 
all  day.  "(lood  enough  for  bears  and — and — Si- 
wash,  maybe."  Most,  1  think  shared  more  or 
less  o})enly  his  depression,  ft)r  the  shores  of  Lynn 
Canal  are  no  more  attractive  to  the  adventurer 
than  the  rest  of  the  bleak  Alaskan  mountain 
coast. 

It  was  a  chilly,  drizzling  day.     The  clouds  or- 


:Hi.: 


•fi 


[i-2      THIIOUGII  THE   Yl'KOS  GOLD  DIGGINGS. 


m 


dinarily  hid  the  tops  of  the  great  steep  moun- 
tains, so  that  these  looked  as  if  they  might  be 
walls  that  reached  clear  up  to  the  heavens,  or, 
when  they  broke  away,  exposed  lofty  snowy 
peaks,  magnificent  and  gigantic  in  the  mist.  We 
caught  glimi)ses  of  wrinkled  glaciers,  crawling 
down  the  valleys  like  huge  jointed  living  things, 
in  wiiose  fronts  the  pure  blue  ice  showed  faintly 
and  coldly.  Here  and  there  waterfalls  appeared, 
leaping  hundreds  of  feet  from  crag  to  crag,  and 
all  along  was  the  rugged  brown  shore,  with  the 
surf  lashing  the  cliffs,  antl  no  place  where  even  a 
boat  might  land.  All  men,  whether  they  clearly 
perceive  it  or  not,  find  in  the  phenomena  of  Na- 
ture some  figurative  meanings,  and  are  depressed 
or  elevated  by  them. 

VV^e  anchored  in  the  lee  of  a  bare  rounded 
mountain  that  night,  it  being  too  rough  to  attempt 
landing,  and  the  next  morning  were  off  Dyea, 
where  we  were  to  go  ashore.  The  surf  was  still 
heavy,  but  the  ca})tain  ventured  out  in  a  small  boat 
to  get  the  scow  in  which  passengers  and  goods 
were  generally  conveyed  to  the  shore  ;  for  the 
water  was  shallow,  and  the  steamer  had  to  keej)  a 
mile  or  so  from  the  land.     In  the  surf  the  boat 


i 


r» 


irt'i 


THE   Tliir   TO   DYE  A. 


33 


;i}> 


dapsized,  and  we  could  see  the  captain  Iwbbing 
up  and  down  in  tlie  breakers,  now  on  t<n>,  now  un- 
der his  boat,  in  the  icy  water.  The  dishwasher, 
who  evidently  knew  tlie  course  of  action  in  all 
sucli  emergencies  from  dime-novel  precedents, 
yelled  out  "  Man  the  lifeboat  I  "  The  ca})tain 
had  taken  the  only  boat  there  was.  The  entire 
crevv,  it  may  be  mentioned,  consisted,  i^esides  the 
dishwasher  and  the  captain,  of  the  sailor,  who 
Avas  also  the  cook.  The  duty  of  manning  the 
lifeboat — had  there  been  one — would  thus  a^)- 
parently  have  devolved  on  the  sailor,  but  he 
grew  pale  and  swore  tliat  he  did  not  know  how 
to  row  and  that  he  had  just  come  from  driving 
a  milk-wagon  in  San  Francisco.  A  party  of 
prospectors  became  engaged  in  a  heated  discus- 
sion as  to  whether,  if  there  had  been  a  boat  on 
board,  it  would  not  have  been  foolish  to  venture 
out  in  it,  even  for  the  sake  of  trying  to  rescue  the 
captain  ;  some  urging  the  claims  of  heroism,  and 
others    loudly  proclaiming  that  they  would  not 

risk  t/ieir  lives  in  any  such  d d  foolish  way  as 

that. 

However,  all  this  .vas  (mlv  the  froth  and  ex- 
citement  of  the  moment.     The  captain  hauled  his 


M 


ri 


J5«i! 


«i 

li 

u 
If 

4 


•Hi 


III 


:m     TUiiovaii  Tin:  vi^kox  aou)  niaaixos. 

boat  out  of  tli(?  breakers,  skillfully  launched  it 
again,  and  canie  on  hoard,  shivering  hut  calm,  a 
strapping,  reckless  Cape  Jjreton  Scotch-Canadian. 
Jn  due  course  of  time  afterwards  the  scow  was 
also  got  out,  and  we  transferred  our  outlits  to  it 
and  sat  on  top  of  them,  wliile  we  were  slowly 
l)ropeIled  ash<jre  by  long  oars. 


CHAPTER  II. 


m 


OVKU   TIIIO   CllILKOOT    PASS. 

AT  this  time  tlierc  was  only  one  building 
at  Dyea — a  log  house  used  as  a  store  t'oi* 
trading  with  the  natives,  and  known  hy  the  name 
of  llealy's  Post.  (Two  years  al't«'rwards,  on  re- 
turning to  the  place,  I  found  a  mushroom,  sawcd- 
boartl  town  of  several  thousand  people;  hut  that 
was  after  the  Klondike  boom.)  AVe  pitched  our 
tents  near  the  shore  that  night,  spreading  our 
blankets  on  the  ground. 

In  the  morning  all  were  bustling  around,  fol- 
lowing out  their  separate  ])lans  for  getting  over 
the  Pass  as  soon  as  possible.  Of  the  diffei'ent 
notches  in  the  mountain  wall  by  which  one  may 
cross  the  coast  range  and  arrive  at  the  head 
waters  of  the  Yukon,  the  Chilkoot,  which  is 
reached  from  Dyea,  was  at  that  time  the  only 
one  jmicticable.  It  was  known  that  .lack  Dal- 
ton,  a  pioneer  tradei-  of  the  countr}',  was  wont  U) 

go  over  the  Chilkat   Pass,  a  little  further  south, 

:55 


«i 

*\ 
*1 

(!l 

u 
if 
ii 
ti 


hi 


:!(i    TiUKHdii  Tin:  viKox  (ioi.n  Diaaixas. 

\vliil«!  Scliujitlvii,  Jljiyos,  and  Itiissoll,  in  an  ex- 
pedition of  which  low  ])eoj)le  ever  heard,  had 
crossed  hy  tlie  way  of  tlie  Taku  River  and  the 
Taku  Pass  to  tlie  IIootalin()ua  or  Teslin  Uiver, 
whicli  is  one  of  tlie  important  streams  tliat  nnite 
to  make  up  the  up|)er  Yukon,  But  tiie  Wliite 
Pass,  wliich  afterwards  became  tlie  most  i)o))ular, 
and  which  lies  just  east  of  the  Chilkoot,  was  at 
that  time  entirely  unused,  being  a  i'ou«^li  long 
ti'ail  that  rec^uired  clearing  to  make  it  servicea- 
ble. 

The  Chilkoot,  though  the  liighest  and  steepest 
of  the  ])asses,  was  yet  the  shortest  and  the  most 
free  from  obstructions ;  it  had  been,  before  the 
advent  of  the  white  adventurer  in  Alaska,  the 
avenue  of  travel  for  the  handful  of  half-starved 
intei'ior  natives  who  were  wont  to  come  down 
occasionally  to  the  coast,  for  the  i)urpose  of 
trading.  The  coast  Indians  are,  as  they  always 
have  been,  a  more  numerous,  more  prosperous, 
stronger  and  more  quarrelsome  class,  for  the  s^a 
yielded  them,  directly  and  indirectly,  a  varied 
a.d  bountiful  subsistence.  The  particular  tribe 
who  occu))ied  the  Dyea  region,— the  Chilkoots — 
Avere  accustomed  to  stand  guard  over  the  Pass 


I. 


(>yi:ii  Tin:  riin.Koor  r.iss.  37 

smd  to  oxi'ict  ti'ihiito  from  all  the  iiitorior  natives 
who  caiiu)  ill  ;  and  uhoii  the  first  wiiitt;  uwu  ap- 
|K"  ivd,  the  natives  tried  in  the  saiiu^  way  to 
hinder  them  from  crossing  and  so  destroying 
their  monopoly  of  petty  tralHc.  For  a  short 
time  this  really  i)revented  individuals  and  small 
parties  from  ex[)loring,  but  in  1^78  a  party  of 
nineteen  prospectors,  under  the  leadership  of 
Kdmund  IJean,  was  organized,  and  to  overcomo 
th(!  hostility  of  the  Chilkoots,  a  sort  of  military 
"•demonstration  '  was  an'ang«Ml  by  the  ofticers  in 
charge  at  Sitka.  The  little  gunboat  stationed 
there  proceeded  to  Dyea,  and,  anchoring,  fired  a 
few  blank  shots  from  her  heaviest  (or  hmdest) 
guns;  afterwards  the  otticer  in  charge  went  on 
shore,  and  made  a  sort  of  unwritten  treaty  or 
agreement  with  the  thoroughly  frightened  na- 
tives, by  which  the  ])rospectors,  and  all  others 
who  came  aftei',  were  allowed  to  proceed  un- 
molested. 

The  fame  of  that  "war-canoe"  spread  from 
Indian  to  Indian  throughout  the  length  and 
breadth  of  the  vast  territory  of  Alaska.  One  can 
hear  it  from  the  natives  in  many  places  a  thou- 
sand   miles  from    where   the    incident   occurred, 


i^'i 


I 


!'1 


III 


il!l 


i  ili'i 


<    I 


ft'   till 


m 


:w    TiiRoran  the  Yukon  holt)  diggings. 

!Ui<l  eaeli  time  the  story  is  so  changed  and  dis- 
<;uised,  that  it  njiglit  be  taken  for  a  myth  by  an 
enthusiastic  niythoh)gist,  and  carefully  preserved, 
with  all  its  vagaries,  and  very  likely  proved  to 
be  an  allegory  of  the  seasons,  or  the  travels  of 
the  sun,  moon,  and  stars.  In  proportion  as  the 
story  reached  more  and  more  remote  regions,  the 
statements  of  the  proportions  of  the  canoe  be- 
came more  and  more  exaggerated,  and  the 
thunder  of  the  guns  more  terrible,  and  the  num- 
ber of  warriors  on  board  increased  faster  than 
Jacob's  flock.  The  gunboat  was  the  butt  for 
many  good-natured  jokes  from  navy  officers,  on 
account  of  her  small  dimensions  and  frail  con- 
struction. Yet  the  natives  a  little  way  into  the 
interior  will  tell  vou  of  the  wonderful  snow-white 
war-canoe,  half  a  mile  long,  armed  with  guns  a 
hundred  yards  or  so  in  length  ;  and  by  the  time 
one  gets  in  the  neighborhood  of  the  Arctic  Cir- 
cle, he  will  hear  of  the  "  great  ship  "  (the  native 
will  perhaps  point  to  some  mountain  eight  or  ten 
miles  away)  "  as  long  as  from  here  to  the  moun- 
tain " ;  how  she  vomited  out  smoke,  fire  and 
ashes  like  a  volcano,  and  at  the  same  time  ex- 
ploded her  guns  and  killed  many  people,  and 


V 


\ 


^/, 


m 


OVER    Till-:  CHILKOOT  PASS. 


39 


how  slie  run  forwards  and  backwards,  with  the 
Avind  or  against  it,  at  a  torrilic  speed, — a  I'onnida- 
ble  monster,  truly  ! 

At  tiie  time  of  our  trip  (in  ISIMI)  the  immigra- 
tion into  the  Yulvon  gold  country  had  gone  on, 
in  a  small  way,  for  some  years ;  several  mining 
districts  were  well  developed,  and  the  natives 
had  settled  down  into  the  habit  of  helping  the 
white  man,  for  a  substantial  remuneration. 
These  natives  were  all  camped  or  housed  close  to 
the  shore.  They  were  odd  and  interesting  at 
lirsc  sight.  Tlie  men  were  of  fair  size,  strong, 
stolid,  and  sullen-looking;  clothed  in  cheap  civil- 
ized garb  in  this  summer  season, — it  was  in  the 
early  part  of  June — in  overalls  and  jumpers,  with 
now  and  then  a  woollen  (iuernsey  jacket,  and 
with  straw  hats  on  their  heads.  The  '.v'omen 
were  neither  beautiful  nor  attractive.  IMany 
of  them  had  covered  their  faces  with  a  mixture 
of  soot  and  grease,  which  stuck  well.  Other 
women  had  their  chins  tattooed  in  stripes  with 
the  indelible  ink  of  the  cuttlelish — sometime.^ 
one,  sometimes  three,  sometimes  live  or  six 
«tripes.  This  custom  I  found  afterwards  among 
the  women  of  many  tribes  and  peoples  in  differ- 


:   ■•'HI 

m 


ill 


i 


M 


m 


ii  lili 


\t 


I 


Ml 


h- 


40      THUOUmr   THK    I'l^KON  GOLD   DKiaiNtlS. 

cnt  iKirts  of  Alaska,  and  it  seems,  in  sonic  regions 
at  least,  to  be  a  mark  of  aristocracy,  indicating 
the  wealth  of  the  parents  at  the  time  the  girl- 
child  was  born.  All  the  natives  were  living  in 
tents  or  rude  wooden  huts,  in  the  most  primitive 
fashion,  cooking  by  a  smouldering  lire  outside, 


Alaskan  VV(>me\  and  CiuLnKKx. 

and  slee[)ing  packed  close  togethei',  wra|)ped  in 
skins  and  dirtv  blankets. 

It  had  been  the  custom  of  the  miners  to  engage 
these  natives  to  carry  their  outfits  for  them,  from 
Dyea,  and  some  of  the  men  who  had  come  with 


n 


Ol'KU    Tin:   VIULKOOT  I'ASS. 


41 


'i 


i 


us,  ii!i!!H'(liiitely  liiivd  packci's  for  tho  whole  ti'ip 
to  Luke  Limleman,  payin*^  thoin,  I  tliink,  eleven 
cents  a  pound  for  everything  carried.  The  store- 
keejjer,  however,  had  been  constructini^'  ji  foot 
trail  for  about  half  the  distance  and  had  bought 
a  few  pack-horses,  and  we  engaged  these  to  ti'ans- 
port  our  outfit  as  far  as  possible,  trusting  to  In- 
dians for  the  rest.  We  had  brought  with  us  from 
Juneau,  on  a  last  sudden  idea,  a  lot  of  lumber 
with  which  to  buihl  our  boat  when  we  should  get 
to  Lake  Lindeman,  and  here  the  transpoitation 
of  this  lumber  became  a  great  problem.  To  pack 
it  on  the  horses  was  an  impossibilitv,  and  the  In- 
dians refused  absolutely  to  take  the  boards  unless 
they  were  cut  in  two,  which  would  destroy  much 
of  their  value,  and  even  if  this  were  done,  de- 
manded an  enormous  price  for  the  carrying; 
tlierefore  it  was  concluded  to  leave  them  behind, 
aid  trust  to  good  luck  in  the  future. 

!  ii  one  way  or  another,  everybody  was  furnished 
virh  some  kind  of  trans})ortation,  and  the  whole 
vi^^Die  poi)ulation  of  Dyea,  permanent  or  tran- 
■iient,  began  moving  uj)  the  valley.  ISome  of  the 
natives  ))ut  theii'  loads  in  wooden  dugout  canoes, 
which   they   paddled,  or  pushed   with  poles,  six 


^"-- 


11 


I  i 


If)  1 


'■t 


'  I 


i  :■ 


42      TJHiOUaif   THE    I'lKON   UOLD   DWGINGS. 

or  seven  miles  uj)  the  sniiill  stream  which  goes 
hy  the  name  of  the  Dyea  Kiver;  others  took 
tlieir  packs  on  tlieii'  backs,  and  led  the  way  along 
the  trail.  Not  stronger,  perluips,  than  white  men, 
the  Chilkoots  showed  themselves  remarkably  pa- 
tient and  enduring,  carrying  heavy  loads  rai)idly 
long  distances  without  resting.  Not  only  the 
men,  but  the  women  and  '  '  b-^n,  made  pack-ani- 
mals of  themselves.  I  renit  -r  a  slight  bov  of 
thirteen  or  so,  who  could  not  have  weighed  over 
eiglity  pounds,  carrying  a  load  of  one  hundred. 
The  dog  belonging  to  the  same  family,  a  medium- 
sized  animal,  waddled  along  with  a  h)ad  of  about 
forty  pounds ;  he  seemed  to  be  imbued  with  the 
same  s[)irit  as  the  rest,  and  although  the  load 
nearly  dragged  him  to  the  ground,  he  was  patient 
and  persevering. 

The  trail  was  a  tiresome  one,  being  mostly 
through  loose  sand  and  gravel  ah)ngside  the 
stream :  several  times  we  liad  to  wade  across. 
As  we  went  \\\\  the  valley  became  narrower,  and 
we  had  views  of  the  glacier  above  us,  which 
reached  long  slender  fingers  down  the  little  val- 
leys from  the  great  ice-mass  on  the  mountain. 
It  was  evident  that  the  glacier  had  once  tilled  the 


I 


I 
I  i 


or  Ell   THE  riflLKOOT  PASS. 


43 


I 


entire  valley.  As  soon  as  we  Avere  up  a  little  we 
wei'o  obliged  to  clamber  over  the  })ile(l-up  boulders 
in  the  stri})s  of  moraine  which  the  ice  had  left ; 
in  })laces  the  rows  were  so  regular  that  they  had 
the  appearance  of  stone  walls. 

AVe  were  seized  with  fatigue  and  a  terril>le 
hunger.  "  You  haven't  a  sandwich  about  vour 
clothes,  have  you  ?"  I  asked  of  some  prospectors 
whom  I  overtook  resting  in  the  lee  of  a  cliff. 
Here  the  stream  becomes  so  rough  and  rapid  tiiat 
the  natives  can  work  their  canoes  no  further,  and 
so  the  i)lace  has  been  somewhat  pompously  njimed 
on  some  maps  the  "•  Head  of  Navigation,"  by 
which  most  people  infer  that  a  gunboat  may  steam 
up  this  far. 

"  No,  by ,  pardnei',"  was  the  answer,  "  if 

we  had,  we'd  a'  eaten  it  ourselves  before  now." 

Crossing  the  stream  for  the  last  time,  on  the 
trunk  of  a  fallen  tree,  which  swayed  alarmingly, 
the  trail  led  up  steeply  among  the  bare  rocks  of 
the  hillside.  All  the  pedestrian  groujis  had  sep- 
arated into  singles  by  this  time,  every  one  going 
his  "ain  gait"  accorcUng  to  his  own  ideas  and 
strength,  jind  in  no  moo<l  for  conveisiition.  I 
overtook  a  young  Irishman,  who  had  started  out 


I ,  slifi 


m 


V  1 


I  i; 


I 


44      THROUGH   THE   YUKON  GOLD  DIGGINaS. 

witlj  a  pack  of  about  sevonty-tive  pounds  ;  lie  was 
resting,  and  (juite  downcast  with  fatigue  and 
hunger. 

Just  where  we  stopped  someone  had  left  a  load 
of  canned  corn  and  tomatoes,  We  eyed  them 
hungrily,  and  gravely  discussed  our  rights  to  help- 
ing ourselves.  We  did  not  know  the  owners  aiul 
could  not  lind  them — certainly  they  were  none 
of  those  that  had  come  with  us.  We  could  not 
take  them  and  leave  money,  for  although  the  na- 
tives respected  "  caches  "  of  provisions,  we  could 
not  expect  them  to  do  the  same  with  money. 
"  Again,"  said  the  Irishman,  "  the  feller  what  lift 
them  here  may  bo  dipinding  on  every  blissed  can 
of  swate  corn  for  some  little  schayme  of  his, 
while  we  have  plenty  grub  of  our  own,  if  we  can 
on'y  get  our  fli])pers  on  it."" 

At  this  period,  all  through  Alaska,  })ro visions 
and  other  property  was  regarded  with  utmost  re 
spect.  Old  miners  and  prospectors  have  told  me 
that  they  have  left  provisions  exposed  in  a 
"  cache  "  for  a  year,  and  on  returning  after  having 
been  hundreds  of  miles  away,  have  found  them 
untouched,  although  nearly  starving  natives  had 
passed    them   almost   daily  all   winter.     In    the 


11 


III 


I 


r^ 


I 


OiKR    THE  CJIILKOOT  PASS. 


45 


I 

I 

if:,; 


mining  camps  the  same  custom  prevailed.  Locks 
were  unknown  on  the  doors.  When  a  white  man 
ai'rived  at  the  hut  of  an  absent  pn^spector,  he 
lielped  himself,  taking  enough  provisions  from 
the  "cache"  to  keep  him  oat  of  want,  till  he 
could  make  the  next  stage  of  his  journey,  and 
wrote  on  i)aper  or  on  the  wooden  door,  "  I  have 
taken  twenty  pounds  of  flour,  ten  pounds  of 
bi.con,  five  pounds  of  beans,  and  a  little  tea," 
signed  his  name,  and  departed.  It  was  not  a  bill, 
but  an  acknowledgment ;  and  to  have  left  with- 
out making  the  acknowledgment  constituted  a 
theft,  in  the  eyes  of  the  miner  po[)ulation.  This 
condition  of  primitive  honesty  did  not  last,  how- 
ever. Later,  with  the  Klondike  boom,  came  the 
ordinary  light-lingeredness  of  civilization,  and  a 
state  of  affairs  uni(|ue  and  instructive  passed 
away. 

We  arrived  finally  at  the  end  of  the  horse- 
trail,  a  spot  named  Sheej)  (/amp  by  an  early 
party  of  })ros[)ectors  who  killed  some  mountain 
shee[)  hero.  Steep,  rocky  and  snowy  mountains 
overhang  tiie  valley,  with  a  vast  glaciei-  not  far 
U|);  and  here,  since  our  visit,  have  occurred  a 
number  of  fatal  disastei's,  from  snowslides  and 


ili 


it 

m 


I 

E  * 

1 


4r>    TiiRouan  the  yvkon  gold  DiaaiNGti. 

landslides.  Pete  had  arrived  before  us :  he  had 
set  up  a  Yukon  camp  stove  of  sheet  iron,  had 
kindled  lire  therein  and  was  engaged  in  the 
preparation  of  slai)jacks  and  fried  bacon,  a  sight 
that  affected  us  so  that  we  had  to  go  and  sit 
back  to,  and  out  of  reach  of  the  smell,  till  Pete 
yelled  out  in  vile  Chinook  "  JMuk-a-muk  altay  ! 
Bean  on  the  table  !  "  There  were  no  beans  and 
no  table,  of  course,  but  that  was  Pete's  facetious 
way  of  putting  it. 

Further  than  Sheep  Camp  the  horse-trail  was 
quite  too  rocky  and  steep  for  the  animals ;  so  we 
tried  to  engage  Indians  to  take  our  freight  for 
the  remaining  part  of  the  distance  across  the 
Pass.  Uj)  to  the  time  of  our  arrival,  the  regular 
price  for  packing  from  Dyea  to  Lake  Lindeman 
had  been  eleven  cents  a  pound.  For  the  trans- 
portation by  horses  over  the  first  half  of  the  dis- 
tance— thirteen  nules — we  had  paid  five  cents  a 
pound,  and  we  had  expected  to  pay  the  Indians 
six  cents  for  the  remainder  of  the  trip.  In  the 
first  place,  however,  it  was  difficult  to  gather  the 
Indi.ms  together,  for  they  were  off  in  bands  in 
different  })arts  of  the  neighboring  country,  on 
expeditions  of  their  own;  and  when  they  arrived 


! 


OVJ'Jll    THE   CIIILKOOT  I'A.SS. 


47 


in  Sheep  Camp,  witli  a  bluster  and  a  nicket,  tliey 
were  so  set  up  by  the  number  of  men  that  were 
waiting  for  their  help  that  they  took  it  into  tiieir 
heads  to  be  in  no  hurry  about  working-.  Fitially 
they  sent  u  spokesman  who,  with  an  insolence 
rather  natural  than  assumed  for  the  occasion,  de- 
manded nine  cents  per  pound  instead  of  six,  for 
packing  to  Lake  Lindeman.  It  was  a  genuine 
strike  -the  revolt  of  organized  labor  against 
helpless  ca])ital. 

Being  in  a  hurry  to  get  ahead  and  fullill 
our  mission,  we  should  doubtless  have  yielded  ; 
but  there  were  many  parties  camped  here 
besides  ourselves — namely,  all  those  who  had 
been  our  fellow-sufferers  on  board  the  Scram- 
bler— and  a  general  consultation  IxMug  held 
among  the  gold-hunters,  it  was  decided  that 
the  proposed  increase  of  pay  for  labor  would 
prove  ruinous  to  their  business.  A  committee 
re])resenting  these  gentlemen  waited  on  us  and 
b(»gged  us  not  to  yield  to  the  strikers,  in  the  care- 
lessness of  our  hearts  and  our  ])lethoric  pocket- 
books,  but  to  consider  that  in  doing  so  they — the 
pros})ectors — must  follow  suit,  the  precedent  be- 
ing once  established  ;   whereas  they   were  poor 


If 


!h 


It 


m 


^ia 


<  • 


!' 


i»      TIIROUaU  THE   YUKON  GOLD  DKiaiNGS. 

iiion,  and  could  not  alFord  the  extra  price.  To 
this  view  of  the  case  we  agreed,  considering  our- 
selves as  a  part  of  the  Sheep  Camp  coiiiniunity, 
rather  than  as  an  individual  party ;  and  the 
English  traveller  (who  was  likewise  suspected  of 
being  overburdened  Avith  funds,  and  therefore 
likely  to  be  careless  with  them)  was  also  waited 
uj)on  and  persuaded  to  resist  the  demands.  So 
everybody  camped  and  waited,  and  was  ob- 
stinate, for  several  days:  not  only  the  white 
men,  but  the  Siwash. 

By  way  of  digression  it  maybe  mentioned  that 
the  word  Siwash  is  indiscriminately  api)lie(l  by 
the  white  men  to  all  the  Alaskan  natives,  to 
whatever  race — and  there  are  many — they  be- 
long. The  word  therefore  has  no  delinite  mean- 
ing, but  corresponds  roughly  to  the  popular 
name  of  "  nigger "  for  all  very  dark-skinned 
races,  or  "  Dago  "  for  Spaniards,  Portuguese,  Ital- 
ians, Greeks,  Turks,  Armenians,  and  a  host  of 
other  black-haired,  olive-skinned  nations.  The 
name  has  been  said  to  be  a  corru})tion  of  the 
French  word  "  sauvage," — savage, — and  this 
seems  very  likely. 

Like  the  corresponding  epithets  cited,  the  word 


<jyi:ii  THE  cniLKooT  pass. 


49 


Si  wash  has  a  certain  fain  i  liar,  facetious,  and  con- 
temptuous value,  and  this  may  have  been  the 
idea  which  })rompted  its  use  just  now,  when 
s|)eakin<^'  of  the  natives  as  strikers  and  oi)})()nents. 
At  any  rate,  they  took  the  situation  in  a  careless, 
matter-of-fact  way  ;  cooked,  ate,  sk'pt,  borrowed 
our  kettles,  begf^ed  our  tea  and  stole  our  sugar 
with  utmost  cheerfulness,  and  were  apparently 
contented  and  happy.  AVe  white  men  likewise 
tried  to  conceal  our  restlessness,  and  chatted  in 
each  others'  tents,  admired  tiie  scenery,  or  went 
rambling  up  the  steep  mountain-sides  in  search 
of  ex})eriences,  exercise,  and  rocks.  Some  of  us 
clambered  over  the  huge  boulders,  each  as  big  as 
a  New  England  cottage,  which  had  been  brought 
here  by  glacial  action,  then  up  over  the  steep 
cliffs,  wrenched  and  ciumbling  from  the  crush- 
ing of  the  same  mighty  force,  supporting  our- 
selves,— when  the  rocks  gave  way  beneath  our 
feet  and  went  rattling  down  the  cliff, — by  the 
tough  saplings  that  had  taken  root  in  the  crevices, 
and  grew  out  horizontally,  or  even  inclined  down- 
wards, bent  by  continuous  snowslides.  So  we 
reached    the  base  of  the  glacier,  where  a  sheer 

leiii'lit  which  we 


e  rose  to 


■■VI 


SI 


! 

111 


« 


'Mil 


ii 


:>(»    Tiinonni  the  yvkon  aoi.n  juaaisas. 


estimated  at  tlireo  or  four  luiiidred  feet,  back  of 
which  stretched  a  great  uneven  wiiite  ice  iiehl, 
as  far  as  the  eye  couUl  see,  clear  up  till  the  view 
was  lost  in  the  mists  of  the  upj)er  mountains; 
an  ice  field  seumed  with  great  yawning  crevasses, 
where  the  1)1  ue  of  the  ice  gleamed  as  streaks  on 
the  dead  white. 

One  morning  we  heard  a  yell  from  the  Siwash, 
and  soon  they  came  running  over  the  little  knoll 
which  separated  our  camp  from  theirs,  and  be- 
gan grabbing  the  articles  that  belonged  to  some 
of  the  miners.  We  were  at  a  loss  to  know  the 
meaning  of  what  seemed  at  first  to  be  a  verv  un- 
ceremonious  proceeding,  but  when  we  saw  the 
miners,  with  many  shamefaced  glances  at  us, 
help  the  natives  in  the  distribution  of  the  ma- 
terial, we  realized  that  these  men  had  forsaken 
us  and  t  leir  resolutions;  so  greedy  were  they  to 
reach  the  land  of  gold  that  they  had  gone  to  the 
natives  and  agreed  to  pay  them  the  demanded 
rates  on  condition  that  they  should  have  all  the 
packers  themselves,  leaving  none  to  us.  We  let 
these  men  and  their  natives  go  in  peace,  without 
even  a  reproach  :  less  than  a  week  afterwards  we 
had  the  deep  satisfaction  of  passing  them  on  the 


Ol'KIi    THE   cnirKOOT   I'.tSS. 


SI 


trail,  and  even  in  lending  tluMii  a  hand  in  a  s«>ries 
of  little  ditficnlties  for  wliieli,  in  their  haste,  thev 
had  conjo  unprepared.  The  veteran  minor  in 
Alaska  is  a  splendid,  open-hearted,  f^enerous 
fellow;  the  newcomer,  or  ''chicharko,"  is  a 
thin<^'  to  be  avoided. 

After  this  v;e  had  to  wait  till  the  natives  had 
got  back  from  carrying  the  miners'  supplies,  and 
then  we  agreed,  with  what  grace  we  could,  to 
pay  the  price  that  the  others  had.  The  Indians 
were  quite  a  horde,  capable  of  canning  in  one 
trip  all  the  supplies  belonging  to  our  party  and 
that  of  the  En»;lish  traveller.  Since  thev  were 
paid  by  the  pound  they  vied  in  taking  enormous 
loads;  the  largest  carried  was  101  pounds,  but 
all  the  men's  packs  ranged  from  125  to  150 
pounds.  Women  and  half-grown  boys  carried 
packs  of  1(K»  pounds.  It  was  a  "Stick  "or  in- 
terior Indian,  named  at  the  mission  7\f//i,  but 
originally  possessed  of  a  fearful  and  unpro- 
nounceable njime,  who  carried  the  largest  load. 
He  was  barely  tolerated  and  was  somewhat 
badgered  by  the  Chilkoots,  hence  he  Hed  much 
to  the  society  of  the  whites,  and  would  squat 
near  for   hours,  always  smiling  hoiribly    when 


m 


\m 


M< 


>]■' 


li 


i  If 

I 


nil 


» 


if 


:  H 


Kfl 


}  II 


rri    Til  nor  an  the  yvkox  a  old  niaaiNos. 

looked  iit ;  ho  cljiiincd  to  \)ii  si  chief  umong  his 
own  wretched  jx'ople,  and  spent  all  his  spare 
time  in  Whickenin^'  his  face,  reserving  rings 
around  the  eyes  which  he  snieared  with  red 
ochre — having  done  which,  he  grinned  ghastly 
approval  of  himself  I 

Pete  started  over  the  Pass  in  advance  of  the 
party,  to  pi'ocure  for  us  if  possil)le  a  boat  at 
J.ake  Lindenuin. 

"I)is  is  dirt  time  I  gross  Pass,"  said  Pete. 
"  Virst  dime  I  dake  leedle  pack — den  1  vos  hlayed 
out;  nex'  dime  1  dake  leedle  roll  of  clo'es — den 
I  vos  blayed  out  too,  py  chimney  :  (lis  dime  1 
dake  notting— den  I  vill  he  blayed  out  loo!" 

The  natives,  after  much  shouting  and  con- 
fusion and  wrangling,  made  up  theii'  packs  ai>out 
noon,  and  started  out,  we  following  ;  just  before 
getting  to  snow-lin(^  they  stopped  in  a  place 
where  a  chaotic  mass  of  Inmlders  form  a  triHing 
shelter,  grateful  to  wild  beasts  or  wild  men  like 
these.  He^e  tliey  deposited  their  loads,  liiui 
with  exasperating  indifference  coniposecl  them- 
selves to  sleej).  AVe  tried  to  ])ersuade  them  to 
go  on,  but  to  no  avail,  and  we  discovered  after- 
wards, as  often  hapj)ened  to  us  i.i  our  dealing 


h 


i 


OVER    THE  CHILKOOT  PASS. 


63 


'    I 


with  tlu!  natives,  tluit  they  were  ri^ht.  It  wus 
.lune,  and  yet  the  snow  hiy  deep  on  all  the  u')))er 
parts  of  tlie  Pass;  and  in  the  long,  warm  days 
it  became  soft  and  mushy,  niakiJig  travel  very 
diHicult,  esj)eciall3''  with  heavy  packs.  As  soon 
as  the  sun  went  down  behind  the  hills,  however, 
the  air  became  cool,  and  a  hard  crust  formed,  so 
that  walkinti-  was  much  better. 

Wc  left  the  natives  and  followed  a  trail  which 
led  among  the  boulders  and  then  higher  up  the 
mountain,  where  manv  moccasined  feet  had  left 
ii  dcoy)  path  through  the  icy  snow.  We  tram])ed 
onward,  sometimes  on  hard  ice,  sometimes 
tiirough  soft  snow,  strung  out  in  Indian  file, 
saying  nothing,  saving  our  breath  for  our  lungs; 
at  times  the  ci'ust  rang  hollow  to  our  tread,  and 
beneath  us  we  could  hear  torrents  raging.  It 
was  about  eight  o'clock  at  night  when  we 
started,  and  the  sun  in  the  narrow  valley  had  al- 
ready gone  down  behind  the  high  glaciers  on 
the  mountain-tops,  even  at  tiiis  hititude  and  in 
the  month  of  June;  so  the  long  northern  twi- 
light which  is  Alaska's  substitute  t'.tr  night  in 
the  sunnner  months  sooji  began  t  J  settle  down 
upon  us.     At  the  same  time  the  moisture  from 


I'll 

M 

•    1 

i  lllli 


III 

^^  flii'l 

mi 


;   i4 

^l\': 

'      k 

1    '    ' 
i    i 

i  'I 

r:  || 

hi 

51      TllliOldll   THE   YUKON  GOLD   DliidlKaS. 


11 


\    !! 


;  11 


tlie  snow  which  all  day  long  had  boon  lying  in 
the  sun,  bogan  cooling  into  mists,  changeful  and 
of  different  thicknesses ;  and  in  the  dim  light 
gave  to  everything  a  wjird  and  unnatural  aspect. 
Even  our  i'el low-travellers  were  distorted  and 
nuifniilied,   now    leniithwise,    now    sidewise,    so 


that     those     above     us 


were 


})OW 


erl'ul-1  imbed 


giants,  striding  u[)  the  hill,  while  those  behind 
us  wei'e  flattened  and  broadened,  and  seemed 
straddling  along  as  grotesquely  as  si)iders. 
AVhen  we  drew  near  and  looked  at  each  other 
Ave  wei'e  inclined  to  laugh,  but  there  was  some- 
thing in  the  ])ale-l)lue,  ghastly  color  of  the  faces 
that  made  Uo  stoj),  half-frightened.  At  twelve 
o'clock  it  was  so  dark  that  we  could  hardly  fol- 
low  the  trail ;  then  we  saw  a  lire  gleaming  like 
a  will-o'-the-wisp  somewhere  above  us,  and  clam- 
bering up  the  steep  rock  which  stuck  out  of  the 
snow  and  overhung  the  trail,  we  saw  a  couple  of 
llgures  crouching  ovei'  a  tiny  blaze  of  twigs  and 
smoking  roots.  It  was  a  native  and  his  "  klutch- 
man"  or  s(juaw ;  he  turned  out  to  be  deaf-and- 
dmnb,  but  made  signs  to  us, — as  we  squatted 
ourselves  around  the  fire, — that  the  night  was 
dark,  the  trail  dangei'ous,  and  that  it  would  be 


I  ii 


oysR  rm:  cini.Koor  /.,,,,«. 
better  to  H-ait  till  if  OTe,,.  ,  ii,,,    ,•  ,' 

"--Lt  o,„...u,.s  „.„,.,„  1-0 ;  I  ;''""^'"-  "'^°- 

r"^  of 'Vet  fagoi,    |,,!.,1,?""'*^' «'"■>' 
""-l.e.1    ,i„„,„:    ;;,  '""-^  "'""«''  t»  wan, , 

li-eli-sl.  of  u.|,i",  '  '"■"'""'^^'  "'"'   "l«<^™e 

<'-"c.ti:t,;::j';-^-.(the.„,,. 

-■--  -.>    tlK.  t,.i,„,„i4  ii     "  '"'"  "''^- 

'"'I'  t''«  «"me  i,l„,  nnn'v  ti  ''■' '"■'    '"^ '""' 

-t  pattern,  l.„l  I,  e  ,       "  T'"'""'  '""'  "" 

"•'"■t-)  tl,at   the      .  il'  ;        "''   '■"'"  ^"•"^'J'-'-g 

verv  gla,Ilv  tool- ,  '  ^""''  """'•     **"  "'e 

IV "     ''•'  '"""^  "I'  °»''  '""i-cl,  again. 

■1  »o  ot  us  soon  got  alj(>nil  ,,f  ,i 
tl'e  rest  of  o„r  ,,,rfv  tu  """'''  •■""'  "" 

steon  n,  H  " '"''"''^' ■'»"■"(  became  verv 

"'"'"^  "'«  '"St  sheer  <leelivilv„PH      „  ' 

''t^ve.l  frouMhe  rr,  rr''"  ''"''""  ''"'■ 
»-  «  trael.  Je  !'«:';;.  ';  ";'"""^"'  "- 
l^"t  onlv  grooves  ..s  if  f  ,        '""'l"-""»  <>"  it. 


i-; 


:  las 


t  \fm 


r>(i      TimoUGH  THE    YUKON  GOLD   DIGGINGS. 

and  tlio  clinihing  was  not  so  easy  that  we  were 
anxious  to  do  it  twice.  So  we  ke[)t  on  upward, 
and  th(^  ascent  soon  became  so  steep  that  we 
were  ol)lioed  to  sto[)  and  kick  footholds  in  the 
crust  at  every  step. 

It  was  twilight  again,  but  still  foggy,  Jind  we 
could  see  neither  up  nor  down,  only  what  ap|)eai"ed 
to  be  a  vast  chasm  beneath  us,  wherein  great  in- 
distinct shapes  were  slowly  shifting — an  imj)res- 
sion  infinitely  more  grand  and  a[)[)alling  than  the 
reality.  At  any  rate,  it  made  us  very  careful  in 
every  stej),  for  we  had  no  mind  that  a  misplaced 
foot  should  send  us  sliding  dow  n  the  grooves  we 
were  following.  At  last  we  gained  the  top, 
found  here  again  the  trail  we  had  lost,  and 
waited  for  the  rest.  Around  us,  sticking  out  of 
the  snow,  were  rocks,  which  appeared  distoi'ted 
and  moving.  It  was  the  nusts  which  moved  past 
them,  giving  a  deceptive  effect.  My  companion 
suddenly  exclaimed,  "  There's  ti  bear ! "  On 
looking,  my  imagination  gave  the  shape  the  same 
semblance,  but  on  going  towards  it,  it  resolved 
itself  very  reluctantly  into  a  rock,  as  if  ashamed 
of  its  failure  to  "  bluff."  IMost  grown-up  i)eople, 
as    well   as  children,  I    fancy,  are  more  or'  less 


ovi:n  Tin-:  riiiiKooT  pass. 


r>7 


afraid  of  the  dai'k — where  tliu  uncertain  evidence 
of  the  eves  can  be  shajied  bv  the  imagination 
iiito  unnatural  tilings.  (Joethe  must  once  have 
felt  something  like  what  Faust  ex|n*essed  when 
he  stood  at  night  in  one  of  the  rugged  llartz 
districts : 

"Sell'  <lii'  Baiiine  hintor  Buiime, 
\\"\v  sic  sehiu'll  voriiber  liifkeii, 
Und  die  Klippen,  die  sieli  hiieken, 
Und  die  lanf^en  Felseiniasen, 
Wie  sie  selinarelieii,  wie  sie  Itla.sen." 

Presently  the  rest  of  the  party  came  up  from 
quite  a  different  direction  and  with  them  a  whole 
troo])  of  packers.  Tiie  main  trail,  from  which 
we  had  strayed,  was  much  longer,  but  not  so 
steep;  while  the  one  we  had  followed  was  sim])ly 
the  mark  of  the  articles  which  the  packers  were 
accustomed  to  send  down  from  the  summit  to 
save  carrying,  wliile  they  themselves  tc^ok  the 
more  circuitous  route. 

On  the  interior  side  of  the  summit  is  a  small 
lake  with  steep  sides,  Vv  hich  the  miners  have 
named  Crater  Lake,  fancying  from  the  shape 
that  it  had  been  formed  by  volcanic  action  ;  it 
has  no  such  origin  however,  but  occupies  what  is 


m 


m 

III 

■  If 


i'U' 


M 


•i 


w 


'1 

V 


I 


0 


I  , 


il  I 


ryH      TJlROUall   THE    YUKON  GOLD  DIGGINaS. 

known  as  a  glacial  tirqiK?  or  amphitheatre — a 
deep  hollow  carved  out  of  the  dioritic  mountain 
nuiss  by  the  j)owerful  wearing  action  of  a  valley 
glacier.  Tliis  hike  was  still  frozen  and  we 
crossed  on  the  ice,  then  followed  down  the  valley 
of  the  stream  which  llowed  from  it  and  led 
into  another  small  lake.  There  are  several  of 
these  small  bodies  of  water  and  connecting 
streams  before  one  reaches  Lake  JJndeman, 
which  is  several  miles  long,  and  is  the  u})permost 
water  of  the  Yukon  which  is  navigable  for  boats. 
Our  path  was  devious,  following  the  packers,  but 
always  along  this  valley.  We  crossed  and  re- 
crossed  the  streams  over  frail  and  reverberant 
arches,  half  ice,  half  snow,  which,  already  broken 
away  in  i)laces,  showed  foaming  torrents  be- 
neath. As  we  descended  in  elevation,  the  ice  on 
the  little  lakes  became  more  .>i  d  more  rotten  and 
the  snow  changed  to  slush,  through  which  we 
waded  knee  deep  for  miles,  sometimes  putting  a 
foot  thi'ough  the  ice  into  the  water  beneath. 

AVe  were  all  very  tired  by  this  time  and  were 
separated  from  one  another  by  long  distances, 
each  silent,  and  travelling  on  his  nerve.  The 
Indian  packers,  too,  in  spite  of  their  long  expe- 


i 


Oyj'JIi    THE   cniLKOOT   I'ASS. 


r>«> 


rience,  were  tired  and  out  of  toni[)or;  but  the 
most  pitiful  sight  of  all  was  to  see  the  women, 
especially  the  old  ones,  bending  under  crushing 
loads,  dragging  themselves  by  sheer  effort  at 
every  step,  groaning  and  stoi)j)ing  occasionally, 
but  again  driven  forward  by  the  men  to  whom 
they  belonged.  One  could  not  interfere ;  it  was 
a  family  matter;  ami  as  among  white  })eople,  the 
woman  would  ha^'o  resented  the  interference  as 
much  as  the  man. 

Finally  we  came  to  a  lake  where  the  water 
was  almost  entirely  open  and  were  obliged  to 
skirt  along  its  rocky  shores  to  where  we  found  a 
brawling  and  rocky  stream  entering  it,  cutting 
us  olf.  After  a  moment  of  vain  glancing  up  and 
down  in  search  of  a  ford,  we  took  to  the  water 
bravely,  floundering  among  the  bouklers  on  the 
siream's  bottom,  and  supporting  ourselves  some- 
what with  sticks.  Afterwards  we  found  a  trail 
which  led  away  from  the  lake  high  over  the  rocky 
hillside,  where  the  rocks  had  been  smoothed  and 
laid  bare  by  ancient  glaciers,  now  vanished. 
Here  we  found  the  remnants  '  f  a  cam}),  left 
by  some  one  who  liad  i-ecen*^',  g(me  before  us ; 
we  inspected  the  corned  beef  cans  lying  about 


'<  .  i 

iiiiii 

iiilj 


•>■■ 


•iiili 

i 


Hi 

>2^ 


i 


n 

% 
pi 


if 


M-;! 


•i^ 


If  1 


(iO      TlIHOmiH   THE    YUKON   GOLD   DlUUINiiS. 


Vcithor  huniii'ilv,  thinkinii'  tluit  soiiietliini>'  niiuht 


Imve  boon  loft  ovor.  Our  oiilv  lunch  since 
leaving  Sheep  Camp  had  boon  a  small  [)ioce  of 
chocohite  and  a  l)iscuit.  The  biscuit  ])<)ssossod 
certain  almost  miraculous  (jualitios,  to  which  I  as- 
ci'ibe  our  success  in  completing  the  ti'ipand  in  ar- 
riving first  among  the  travellers  at  Lake  Linde- 
nian.  1  myself  was  the  concocter  of  this  biscuit, 
but  it  was  done  in  a  moment  of  inspiration,  and 
since  I  have  forgotten  certain  mystic  details,  it 
probably  could  never  be  gotten  together  again. 
It  was  the  first  and  last  time  that  I  have  made 
biscuit  in  my  life,  and  I  did  it  simply  for  the 
purpose  of  instruction  to  the  others,  who  woi'o 
shockingly  ignorant  of  such  practical  matters. 

We  had  brought  a  reflector  with  us  for  baking, 
— a  metal  arrangement  which  is  set  up  in  front 
of  a  camp-lire,  and,  from  polished  metallic  sur- 
faces, reflects  the  heat  up  and  down,  on  to  a  pan 
of  biscuit  or  bread,  which  is  slid  into  the  middle. 
These  utensils  as  used  in  the  Lake  Superior 
region,  that  home  of  good  wood-craft,  are  made 
of  sheet  iron,  tinned;  but  thiid{ing  to  got  a 
lighter  article,  I  had  one  constructed  out  of 
aluminum.     This    lirst   and    last   trial   with  our 


\ 


I    s    ! 


Itl 


OVER   THE  riflLk'OOT  PASS. 


HI 


aluniinuin  rellector  at  Slieop  Ciinii)  showed  us 
that  one  of  the  peculiar  properties  of  this  metal 
is  that  it  reflects  heat  but  verv  little,  but  trans- 
mits it,  almost  as  readily  as  glass  docs  light.  So 
when  I  had  arrived  at  the  first  stage  of  my 
demonstration  and  had  the  reflector  braced  up 
in  front  of  the  fire,  I  found  that  the  dough  re- 
nuiined  obstinately  dough,  while  the  heat  passed 
through  the  reflector  and  radiated  itself  around 
about  Sheep  Camp.  Still  I  persisted,  and  after 
several  hours  of  stewing  in  front  of  the  lire,  most 
of  the  water  was  evaporated  from  the  dough, 
leaving  a  com})act  rubbery  grey  biscuit,  as  I 
termed  it.  I  offered  it  for  lunch  and  I  ate  one 
myself;  no  one  else  did,  but  I  was  rewarded  by 
feeling  a  fullness  all  through  the  tramp,  whila 
the  others  were  empty  and  famished.  I  also  wiis 
sure  that  it  gave  me  enormous  strength  and  ei:- 
durance ;  while  some  of  the  rest  were  unkind 
enough  to  suggest  that  the  same  high  courage 
which  led  me  up  to  the  biscuit's  mouth,  figura- 
tively speaking,  kept  me  })lugging  away  on  the 
Lake  Lindeman  trail. 

We   reached    Lake    Linde.nan    at   about    nine 
o'clock    in   the   morning,    and    found    Pete   and 


§1 


■ill! 

I'll 

n 
■ill 


i  it 


i         I 


I  .  I 


(!•-»    Tinioran  riii-:  yik'ox  (.old  niaaLXGS. 

Cooper  iilrcady  tlicrc.  It  was  rainiii<^'  drearily 
and  tlicy  liad  made  themselves  a  shelter  of  poles 
and  boughs  undei'  which  tiioy  were  lying  con- 
tentedly enough,  waiting  until  the  j)ackers  should 
bring  the  tents.  In  a  vei-y  short  time  after  we 
had  arrived  all  the  natives  were  at  hand,  and  set- 
ting down  their  packs  demanded  nnmey.  They 
could  not  be  induced  to  accept  bills,  because  they 
could  not  tell  the  denomination  of  them,  and 
would  as  soon  take  a  soa})  advertisement  as  a 
handred-doUar  note;  they  dislike  gold,  because 
they  get  so  snuill  a  quantity  of  it  in  comi)arison 
with  silver. 

Like  the  Indians  of  the  Ignited  States,  the 
Alaskans  formerly  used  wam})uni  largely  as  a 
medium  of  exchange — small,  straight,  horn- 
shaped,  rather  rare  shells,  which  were  strung  on 
thongs — but  when  the  trading  companies  began 
shipping  j)orcelain  wampum  into  the  counti'y  the 
natives  soon  learned  the  trick  and  sto})})ed  the 
use  of  it.  I  have  in  my  possession  specimens  of 
this  porcelain  wam})um,  which  I  got  from  the 
agent  of  one  of  the  large  trading  companies  on 
the  Yukon.  Silver  is  now  the  favorite  currency, 
whether  or  not  on   the  basis  of  sound  political 


onjii  Tin:  ciin.KooT  i'ass. 


(i:i 


('(••(iioiiiy  ;  iiiid  ciicli  |)jii'ticiiliir  srclioii  li;is  often 
ji  )>!•(  rci'ciu'c  lor  sonic  s|>('c*ial  coin,  such  jis  a 
(iMiii'tcr,  ("two  l»its,"  as  it  is  called  in  the  l;in- 
^niai^v  of  the  west  coast)  a  lialf-dollai-  oc  a  dollar. 


Alaskan  In'dians  ankJIoisi;. 

Where  the  natives  liave  had  to  deal  only  with 
(|iiarters,  you  cannot  I»iiy  anythin<;-  for  half-dol- 
lars,   except    for    nearly    double    the    [)rice   you 


111 

'k  li 


HI! 


1    Iw 

.  "I 
i. 

1 

-.1  ll" 


J<l 


::il 


f. 


■I 


(II      TJlIiOi'dir  THE   YUKON  GOLD  J)l(i(irX(,'S. 

would  pay  in  quai'ters;  while diiiics,  li<»wov<'r  laigo 
the  (jiumtity,  would  ju'obably  be  refused  entirely. 
The  Chilkoots,  however,  on  account  of  their 
residence  on  the  coast  and  consequent  cojitaet 
with  the  whites,  had  become  more  libei-al  in 
their  views  as  regarded  tlenomination  of  silvei', 
but  drew  the  line  at  bimetalism,  and  had  no 
faith  whatsoever  in  the  United  States  as  the  ful- 
filler  of  promises  to  redeem  greenbacks  in  silver 
coin.  So  there  was  some  trouble  in  paying  thein 
satisfactorily ;  and  after  they  were  })ai(l  they 
came  bacl^,  begging  for  a  little  floui*,  a  little  tea, 
etc.,  and  kee[)ing  up  the  process  with  unwearied 
ardor  till  the  supply  was  definitely  shut  ott". 
The  toughness  of  these  people  is  well  shown  by 
the  fact  tliat  when  they  had  rested  an  hour  and 
had  cooked  themselves  a  little  food  and  drunk  a 
little  tea,  they  departed  over  the  trail  again  for 
Sheej)  Camp,  although  they  had  made  the  same 
journey  as  the  white  men,  who  were  all  ex- 
hausted, and  had,  in  addition,  carried  loads  of  as 
high  as  1<!0  pounds  over  the  whole  of  the 
rough  trail  of  thirteen  miles.  When  affairs  were 
settled  we  pitched  our  tents,  rolled  into  our 
blankets,  and  for  the  next  twenty  hours  sle[)t. 


CHAPTER  III. 

TIIK    LAKES    AND   TIIK    YIKoN     TO    FORTY    MIIJ;. 

UPON  reacliini''  Lake  Lindeman,  we  fomul  a 
nmnbei'  of  otlier  parties  encamped, — men 
who  had  come  over  the  trail  before  us,  and  had 
been  delavinff  a  short  time,  for  different  reasons. 
From  one  of  these  parties  Pete  had  been  lucky 
enougli  to  buy  a  boat  ab'eady  built,  so  that  we 
did  not  have  to  wait  and  build  one  ourselves — a 
job  that  would  have  consumed  a  couple  of  weeks. 
The  boat  was  after  the  dory  pattern,  but  shar[)  at 
both  ends,  mad'>  of  spruce,  lap-streaked  and  un 
painted,  with  the  seams  calked  and  pitched  ; 
about  eighteen  feet  long,  and  uncovered.  J)ur- 
ing  the  trip  later  we  decided  that  it  ought  to  be 
christened,  and  so  we  mixed  some  soot  and 
bacon-grease  for  paint,  applied  it  hot  to  the 
raw,  porous  wood,  and  inscribed  in  shaky  letters 
the  words  "  Skookm/i  /V^,"  as  a  comi)liment  to 
our  pilot.  S/t'ool'Ni/i  is  a  ('hinook  word  sig- 
nifying  strength,  courage,  and   other  excellent 

65 


Jit 


If 

III 


,^' 


11 


I*i  J 


(i(i 


TllliOUail   THE    iUKON  HOLD  DlCJaiAGS. 


iiJ 


(jiialities  necessary  for  a  native,  a  frontiersman, 
or  any  other  dweller  in  the  wilderness— (jualities 
which  were  conspicuous  in  Pete.  Tete  was  over- 
come with  shame  on  reading  the  legend,  how- 
ever, and  straightway  erased  his  name,  so  that 
she  was  sim[)ly  the  Skookum.  And  skookuni 
she  pi'oved  herself,  in  the  two  thousand  miles  we 
afterwards  ti-avelled,  even  though  she  sprung 
a  leak  occasionally  or  became  obstinate  when  be- 
ing  urged  up  over  a  rai)i<l. 

It  nuiy  be  observed  that  the  Chinook,  to  which 
this  word  belongs,  is  not  a  language,  but  a 
jargon,  composed  of  words  from  many  native 
American  and  also  fi-om  many  European 
tongues.  It  sprung  up  as  a  sort  of  universal 
hingu.age,  which  was  used  l)y  the  traders  of  the 
lludsoii  I  Jay  Company  in  their  intercourse  with 
the  nativf^s,  and  is  consequently  widel}'  known, 
but  is  poor  in  vocabulary  and  expression. 

There  woi'e  severrJ  boats  ready  to  start,  craft 
of  all  models  and  grades  of  workmanship,  vari- 
ously illustrating  the  efforts  of  the  cowboy,  the 
clerk,  or  the  lav.yer,  at  shi])-carpentry.  Several 
of  us  got  olf  together  in  the  morning,  our  boat 
carrying  four,  and   the  English   traveller's  boat 


LAKES  AM)    THE    YUKOX  TO    FOllTY   MILE. 


07 


h'.^i 


tlie  saiiio  nuinluM",  I'or  ho  liad  taken  into  his  i)ai"ty 
the  i)riest  whom  we  had  Jiiot  on  the  Seranihh'i'. 

This  gentleiium,  with  a  naiiil»er  of  miners  and 
a  newspaper  r('[)orter,  had  been  unlucky  cnongh 
to  fall  into  the  ti'ap  of  a  certain  transportation 
company,  which  had  a  very  i)rettily  furnished 
ollice  in  Seattle.  This  oliice  was  the  big  end  of 
tiio  c<jmpany.  As  one  went  north  towards  tiie 
region  where  the  company  was  supposed  to  be 
doing  its  transportation,  it  shrunk  till  nothing 
was  left  but  a  swindle.  They  promised  for 
certain  sum  of  money  to  ti-ansport  supplies  ami 
outlits  over  the  Pass,  and  to  have  the  entire  ex- 
})edition  in  charge  of  an  exi)eriencod  man,  who 
wo  lid  relieve  one  of  all  wony  and  bother;  aiul 
after  transportation  across  tlu^  Pass,  to  put  tlieir 
passengers  on  tho  company's  steamers,  which 
would  carry  them  to  the  gold  tiehls.  Even  at 
Juneau  the  "experienced  man"  who  was  to  take 
the  party  through,  and  who  was  a  high  olticer  of 
the  company,  kept  up  the  ridiculous  pretences 
and  succeeded  in  obtaining  a  niunber  of  j)as- 
sengers  for  the  trip.  AVhen  these  men  learned 
later,  however,  that  the  guide  had  never  y«.'t 
been  further  than  .luneau  ;  that  he  had  no  means 


m 

m 

I'll 


r 


ill' 


<;h      through  the  yukon  gold  diggings. 


of  transporting-  froiglit  over  the  Pass;  that  the 
steamers  existed  only  in  fancy  ;  and  finally, 
when  opi)ortunity  to  hire  hel[)  offered,  that  the 
leader  had  no  funds,  so  that  they  were  obliged 
to  do  all  the  work  themselves,  in  order  to  move 
along :  when  they  learned  all  this  they  were 
naturally  a  disgusted  set  of  men,  but  having 
now  given  away  their  money,  most  of  them  de- 
cided to  stick  together  till  the  diggings  were 
reached.  The  priest,  however,  who  was  in  a 
hurrv,  became  nervous  when  he  saw  different 
parties  leaving  the  rapid  and  elegant  transporta- 
tion company  in  the  rear,  and  effected  a  separa- 
tion. 

AVhen  we  left  Sheep  Camp,  the  manager  was 
trying  to  cajole  his  passengers  into  carrying  their 
own  })acks  to  the  summit,  even  going  so  far  as  to 
take  little  loads  himself — "just  for  exercise,"  as 
he  airily  informed  us.  lie  was  an  Englishman, 
of  aristocratic  tendencies,  with  an  awe-inspiring 
a('(juaintance  with  titles.  "  You  know  Lord  Dud- 
son  Dudley,  of  course,"  he  would  begin,  fixing 
<Mie  with  his  eye  as  if  to  hypnotize ;  "his  sister, 
you  remember,  nuule  such  a  row  by  her  flirtation 
with  Sir  .lekson  .lekby. — Never  heard  of  them  ? — 


LAKES  AND    THE    YUKOX   TO   FORTY   MI  I.E.      09 


:  1 


IIuiiipli  I  *"  And  tlien  with  a  look  wliicli  sconiod 
to  say  "What  kind  of  a  hhii'stcd  Pliilistine  is 
this?"  he  would  retreat  to  his  own  cani[)-tire. 

We  sailed  down  Lake  Lindeman  with  a  fair 
brisk  wind,  using  our  tent-fly  braced  against  a 
pole,  for  a  sail.  The  distance  is  only  four  or  Ave 
miles,  so  that  the  lower  end  of  the  lakci  was 
reached  in  an  hour.  A  mountain  sheep  was 
sighted  on  the  hillside  above  us,  soon  after  start- 
ing, and  a  long-range  shot  with  the  rifle  was  tried 
at  it,  but  the  animal  bounded  away. 

At  the  lower  end  of  this  first  (^f  the  Yukon 
navigable  lakes  there  is  a  stream,  full  of  little 
falls  and  rapids,  which  connects  with  Lake  i^^en- 
nett,  a  much  larger  body  of  water.  According  to 
Pete,  the  b<jat  could  not  run  these  rapids,  so  we 
be<»'an  the  task  of  "  lining "  her  down.  AVith  a 
long  pole  shod  with  iron,  especially  brought  along 
for  such  work,  Pete  stood  in  the  bow  or  stern,  as 
the  emergency  called  for,  planting  the  pole  on 
the  rocks  which  stuck  out  of  the  water  and  so 
shoving  and  steering  the  boat  thi'ough  an  o})en 
narrow  channel,  while  we  three  held  a  long  line 
and  scrambled  along  the  bank  or  waded  in  the 
shallow  water.     We  had  put  on  long  rubber  boots 


•J 

'Jill 

>\ 

''II 


,!)ii 


'f  iX 


TintOUaU  THE   YUKON  ISOLD   DIoaiNGS. 


i 


rcjicliin^'  to  the  liip  and  strapped  t(j  our  l)elts,  so  at 
first  oui'  wadin*^'  was  not  uncomfortable.  On  ac- 
count of  tlie  roar  of  the  water  we  could  not  liear 
Pete's  orders,  but  could  see  his  signals  to  "haul 
in,"  or  ''let  her  go  ahead."  On  one  difficult  little 
])lace  he  nianoeuvered  quite  a  while,  getting  stuck 
on  a  rock,  signalling  us  to  pull  back,  and  then  try- 
ing again.  Finally  he  struck  the  right  channel, 
and  motioned  energetically  to  us  to  go  ahead. 
We  spurted  forward,  waddling  clumsily,  and  the 
foi'eniost  man  ste})ped  suddenly  into  a  groove 
where  the  water  was  above  his  waist.  Ugh  !  It 
was  icy,  but  he  ftoundered  through,  half  swim- 
ming, half  wading,  dragging  his  great  watei'-lilled 
boots  behind  him  like  iron  weights;  and  tlie  rest 
followed.  We  felt  quite  triumphant  and  hei'oic 
when  we  enu^rged,  deeming  this  something  of  a 
trial :  we  did  not  know  thai,  the  time  would  come 
when  it  would  be  the  ordinary  thing  all  day  long, 
and  would  become  so  iiKmotcmous  that  all  feelings 
of  novelty  would  be  lost  in  a  general  neutral  tint 
of  bad  tempei'  and  rheumatism. 

On  I'eaching  shallow  water  the  weight  of  the 
water-lillcd   I'ubber  boots  was  so  ii'reat  that  we 


.=   |i 


could    no    loiioer    navmate 


among 


th 


o   shppery 


M 


h.  Jt 


LAKKS  AXI)    THE    YTKOX   TO   FOUTY  MII.E.      71 


rocks,  so  wo  took  turns  going  ashore^  and  ('ini)ty- 
ing  tlu'iii.  Tlu'i'o  was  a  smooth  round  rock  with 
steep  sides,  glaring  in  the  sun  ;  on  this  we  sti'etch(>d 
ourselves  head  down,  so  that  the  water  I'an  out 
of  our  hoots  Mid  trickled  in  cold  little  sti'canis 
down  our  f'acks;  then  we  returned  to  our 
work. 

Before  iindei'taking  to  line  the  Skookum  tlirongh 
the  rapids  we  had  taken  out  ti  large  part  of  the 
load  and  i)ut  it  on  shore,  in  order  to  lighten  the 
boat,  and  also  to  save  cnir  "grub"  in  case  our 
boat  was  capsized.  The  next  task  was  to  carry 
this  over  the  half-mile  portage.  Packing  is  about 
the  hardest  and  most  disliked  woi'k  that  a  pioneer 
has  to  do,  and  yet  everv  one  that  travels  hard 
and  well  in  Alaska  and  similar  rough  countries 
must  do  it  ad  iKOf.si'am.  In  such  remote  and  un- 
finished i)arts  of  the  world  transportation  comes 
back  to  the  original  and  simple  phase, — carrying 
on  one's  back.  The  railroad  and  the  steamboat 
are  for  civilisation,  the  wheeled  vehicle  for  the 
iidud)ite(l  land  where  there  are  I'oatls,  the  camel 
for  the  desert,  the  hoi'se  for  the  plains  and  where 
trails  have  been  cut,  iiut  for  a  large  pan  of 
Alaska   Nature's  oidv   highwavs   are  the  rivers. 


m 


It', 


'ii;l 

;"'ii 


•♦;! 


^ 


'•11 

HI 
'ii. 

■n\ 

PI 


I 


72 


TiriiOUaH  THE  YUKON  GOLD  j)iaaL\as. 


and  wlicn   the  water  Avill  not  carry  tlio  burdens 
tiie  explorer  must. 

In  a  i)ro|)erl y-constructed  })ack-sack,  the  weight 
is  carried  partly  by  the  shoulders  but  mainly  l)y 
the  neck,  the  back  bemg  bent  and  the  neck 
stretched  forward  till  the  load  rests  upon  the  back 
and  is  kept  from  slipi)ing  by  the  head  strap,  which 
is  nearly  in  line  with  the  rigid  neck.  An  aston- 
ishing amount  can  be  carried  in  this  way  with 
practice, — for  half  a  mile  or  so,  very  nearly  one's 
own  weight.  Getting  up  and  down  with  such  a 
load  is  a  work  of  art,  which  s})oils  the  temper  and 
Avrenches  the  muscles  of  the  beginner.  Having 
got  into  the  strap  he  finds  himself  pinned  to  the 
ground  in  spite  of  his  backbone-brealdng  efforts 
to  rise,  so  he  must  learn  to  so  sit  down  in  the  be- 
ginning that  he  can  tilt  the  load  forward  on  his 
back,  get  on  his  hands  and  knees  and  then  elevate 
himself  to  the  necessary  standing-stooping  pos- 
ture ;  or  he  must  lie  down  flat  and  roll  over  on 
his  face,  getting  his  load  fairly  between  his 
shoulders,  and  then  work  himself  up  to  his  hands 
and  knees  as  before.  Sometimes,  if  the  load  is 
heavy,  the  help  of  another  must  be  had  to  get 
an   upright  position,  and  then  the  packer  goes 


■if 


LAKES  AXD   THE   YUKON  TO   FORTY  MILE.      7;{ 


triulgiii;;^-  oir,  red  and  sweating  and  with  bulging 
veins. 

By  tlie  time  we  had  carried  our  outfits  over 
tlie  portage,  we  were  ready  for  su})|)er,  and  after 
that  for  a  sleep,  AV^e  pitched  no  tent — we  were 
too  tired,  and  the  blue  sky  and  the  still  shining- 
sun  looked  very  friendly — so  we  rolled  in  our 
blankets  anil  slumbered. 

There  were  other  craft  than  ours  at  Lake  Ben- 
nett,— belonging  to  })arties  who  had  come  over 
before  us,  and  who  had  not  yet  started.  The 
most  astonishing  thing  was  a  snudl  portable 
sawmill,  which  had  been  pulled  across  the  Chil- 
koot  Pass  in  the  winter,  over  the  snow  and  ice ; 
and  the  limited  means  of  communication  in  this 
country  are  well  shown  by  the  fact  that  no  news 
of  anv  such  mill  was  to  be  had  anvwhere  alonjj: 
the  route.  Men  went  over  the  Chilkoot  I*ass 
into  the  interior,  but  rarely  any  came  back  that 
way. 

Among  the  gold  hunters  was  a  soli  tar  v  Dutch- 
num,  a  })atlietic,  desjjerate,  mild-mannei'ed  sort 
of  an  adventurer,  who  had  built  himself  a  boat 
like  a  woodbox  in  model  and  construction, 
square,    lop-sided,   and    leaky ;    but    he   started 


iiif 


'Jl 


1 


71        TJIIiOUail   THE   YUK(fN  (fOLD  DKKIIXaS. 


bnivoly  down  L;ike  I»onnctt,  ^)i^(l(llin<,^  Avitli  a 
r.'i^'  of  .1  S(jii!iro-siiil  briiccd  agaijist  a  j)()lo.  AVo 
pitied,  adinii'od,  and  laughed  at  him,  but  many 
were  tlie  doubts  expressed  as  to  whetlier  he 
couhl  reach  the  diggings  in  his  coclde-sht'U. 
Tlien  there  was  a  hirgo  scow,  also  frailly  built ; 
this  contained  several  tons  of  outfit,  and  a  party 
of  seven  or  eight  men  and  one  woman.  They 
were  the  parasites  of  the  mining  camp,  all  ready, 
with  smuggled  whisky  and  faro  games — Wein, 
Weib,  und  (Jesang — to  relieve  the  miners  of 
some  of  their  gold-dust:  and  I  am  told  that  the 
manager  of  the  ex[)edition  brought  out  $100,000 
two  years  later, 

AVe  all  got  away,  one  after  the  other.  There 
was  a  stiff  fair  wind  blowing  down  the  lake, 
which  soon  increased  to  a  gale,  and  the  waves 
became  very  rough.  The  lake  is  narrow  and 
fjord-like,  walled  in  by  high  mountains  which 
often  rise  directly  from  the  shores.  Lakes  like 
this  all  through  Alaska  are  naturally  subject 
to  fi'e(pient  and  violent  gales,  since  the  deep 
mountain  valleys  form  a  kind  of  chimney,  up 
and  down  which  the  currents  of  air  rush  to  the 
fi'ostv  snowy  mountains  from  the  warmer  low- 


i 
i 


\i    :     I: 


LAKKS  AM)    THE    YVKOS    TO   FoUTY   MILK.      75 


71 


lands,  or  in  the  opposite  direction.  Tiie  further 
we  went  the  iiarder  the  wind  blew,  and  the 
I'oui^her  became  the  water,  so  thiit  when  al)ont 
hall'-wuy  down  we  made  a  hmding-  to  ese{ii>e  Ji 
heavy  S(|uall.  After  dinner,  it  seemed  from  our 
snug  litth;  cove  that  the  wind  iiad  abated,  and 
we  i)ut  out  a<4ain.  On  getting  well  away  from 
the  sheltering  shore  we  found  it  rougher  than 
ever;  but  while  we  were  at  dinner  we  had  seen 
the  scow  go  past,  its  scjuaro  bow  nearl}'  buried 
in  foaming  water,  and  had  seen  it  apparently 
run  ashore  on  the  oi)posite  side  of  the  lake,  some 
miles  further  down.  Once  out,  therefore,  we 
steered  for  the  i)lace  where  the  scow  had  been 
beached,  for  the  ])ur[)ose  of  giving  aid  if  any 
were  necessary.  On  the  run  over  we  shipped 
water  repeatedly  over  both  bow  and  stern,  and 
sometimes  were  in  imminent  danger  of  swamp- 
ing, but  by  skillful  managing  we  gained  the 
shelter  of  a  little  nook  about  half  a  mile  from 
tlie  open  beach  where  the  scow  was  lying,  and 
landed.  We  then  walked  along  the  shore  to  the 
scow,  and  found  its  [)assengers  all  right,  they 
having  beached  voluntarily,  on  account  of  the 
roughness  of  the  water. 


till 
Ill 


I 

'tip    : 


7(i        Tinunuil    THE    YVKOS   (iULD   Dia(lL\(,'S. 


However,  \v«'  had  had  enoii<;h  navigation  for 
one  (hiy,  so  we  did  not  venture  out  again.  Pres- 
ently anotlier  little  boat  came  scudding  down 
the  lake  through  the  white,  frothy  water,  and 
shot  in  alongside  the  Hkookuni.  It  was  a  party 
of  miners — the  young  Irislnnan  whom  J  had 
overtaken  on  the  trail  to  Sheep  Camp,  and  his 
three  "  pardners." 

It  was  not  an  ideal  spot  where  we  all  cam})ed, 
being  simply  a  steep  rocky  slope  at  the  foot  of 
cliffs.  When  the  time  came  to  sleep  we  had 
difficulty  in  finding  places  smooth  enough  to  lie 
down  comfortably,  but  finally  all  were  scattered 
around  here  and  there  in  various  places  of  con- 
cealment among  the  rocks.  I  had  cleared  a 
space  close  under  a  big  boulder,  of  exactly  my 
length  and  breadth  (which  does  not  imply  any 
great  labor),  and  with  my  head  muflled  in  the 
blankets,  was  beginning  to  doze,  when  1  heard 
stealthy  footsteps  creeping  toward  me.  As  I 
lay,  these  sounds  were  muHled  and  magnified  in 
the  marvellous  cpiiet  of  the  Alaskan  night  (al- 
though the  sun  was  still  shining),  so  that  I  could 
not  judge  of  tlie  size  and  the  distance  of  the  ani- 
mal.    Soon  it  got  quite  close  to  me,  and  I  could 


i' 


LAKKS  A XI)    'HIE    Yl'KOS    TO   FOliTY  MILE.      77 

iioiir  it  scriitchini^  at  sometiiing;  then  it  soeme<l 
to  1)0  ill  cstii^atiiig  my  iiuitchos,  knil'o  and  coin- 
[»ass.  Kiiuiily,  wide-awake,  and  somewhat  star- 
tled, I  sat  up  suddenly  and  threw  my  blindvet 
from  my  face,  iind  looked  for  the  nuira  (ding 
iinimal.  I  found  him — in  the  shape  of  a  sauey 
little  grey  mouse,  that  stared  at  nu)  in  amaze- 
ment for  a  moment,  and  then  scampered  into  his 
hole  under  the  boulder.  As  1  had  no  desire  to 
liave  the  impu(k>nt  little  fellow  lunching-  on  me 
while  1  slept,  1  [)lugged  the  hole  with  stones 
before  1  lay  down  again.  Some  of  the  same 
animals  came  to  visit  Schrader  in  his  l'<'d- 
chamber,  and  nibbled  his  ears  so  that  they  were 
sore  for  some  time.* 

As  the  gale  continued  all  the  next  day  with- 
out abatement,  we  profited  by  the  enforced  delay 
to  clind)  the  high  mountain  which  rose  precipi- 
tously above  us.  And  apropos  of  this  climb, it  is 
remarkable  what  difference  one  finds  in  the  tip- 
l)earance  of  a  bit  of  country  when  simply  sur- 
veyed from  a  single  point  and  when  actually 
travelled  over.     Kspecially  is  this  true  in  moun- 


m 

'3  It 


I  'I 


'il! 


11.' 
\  'I 


I A 


*  A    portidii    of  tliis   (l(sciii)li(iii    is  similar  to  tliat  iist-d  I)v 
the  writer  in  an  articli'  pultlisliod  in  "Outinj;." 


I,  i 


7H      Tiimnai!  Tin:  yukos  hold  inaaisas. 

tains.  I)n>ii«!  slojx's  wliicli  iippoar  to  be  |H'i'lVctly 
easy  to  ti'uvei'sc  are  in  reality  cut  up  by  narrow 
and  deep  canyons,  ahnost  inipossiljjc  to  cross; 
what  seems  to  be  a  trilling  bench  of  rock,  half  a 
niiloup  the  mountain,  giows  into  a  ]ter}»en(licular 
cliir  a  hundred  feet  high  l)el"ore  one  I'caches  it  ; 
and  pretty  grey  streaks  become  gulches  lillcd 
with  great  anguiai'  rock  t'ragnu'nts,  so  loosely 
hiid  one  over  the  other  that  at  each  careful  step 
one  is  in  fear  of  starting  a  mighty  avalanche, 
and  of  being  bui'ied  under  rock  enough  to  build 
u  city. 

Owing  to  difficulties  like  these  it  was  near 
suppei'-time  when  we  gained  the  to[)  of  the  nuiiii 
mountain  range.  As  far  as  the  eye  could  see  in 
all  directions,  there  rose  a  wilderness  of  barren 
peaks, covered  with  snow;  while  in  one  direction 
lay  a  desolate,  lifeless  table-land,  shut  in  by  high 
mountains.  IJelow  and  near  us  lay  gulches  and 
canyons  of  magniticent  depth,  and  the  blue 
waters  of  one  of  the  arms  of  Lake  Ik^nnett  ap- 
peared, just  lately  free  from  ice.  Above,  rose  a 
still  higher  peak,  stee]),  dillicult  of  access,  and 
covered  with  snow;  this  the  lateness  of  the  hour 
prevented  us  from  attempting  to  climb. 


; 
; 


u£Cc.iJy'-;:,^J!.,fUlQ;nA& 


L.lh'h'S  AM)    THE    Yl'KoS    To   I'itUTY  Mll.i:       7i» 


Next  (lav  and  tlu^  next  the  wind  wiis  as  lii^ili 
as  ever;  but  tlio  \vaitin<4'  linally  Ixvaiiic  too 
tedious,  and  \v«;  started  out,  tlio  four  niiiu'is  hav- 
ing preceded  us  by  a  half  an  liour.  Once  out  of 
the  shelter  of  tho  projecting  pcunt,  wo  found  the 
gale  very  strong  and  the  cho[)  disagi'eealile.  We 
S(piared  oil'  and  ran  before  the  wind  for  the  op- 
posite side  of  the  lake,  driving  ahead  at  a  good 
rate  under  our  llttlo  rag  of  a  sail.  Although  the 
boat  was  balanced  as  evenly  as  j)ossible,  evei'v 
minute  or  two  we  would  tako  in  water,  scnne- 
tinies  over  the  i)ow,  sometimes  in  tho  stern, 
sometimes  amidships.  I  have  in  mv  mind  a  verv 
vivid  picture  of  that  sceno :  Wiborg  in  tho  storn, 
steering  intentiv  and  carefullv  ;  (ioodrich  and 
Schrader  forward,  sheets  in  hand,  attending  to 
tho  sail:  and  mvsi^lf  stretched  fiat  on  mv  face,  in 
order  not  to  make  the  boat  top-hoavy,  and  bail- 
ing out  tho  water  with  a  frying-pan.  On  near- 
ing  the  lower  shore  wo  noticed  that  the  boat 
containing  tho  niiners  had  run  into  tho  broakei-s, 
and  presently  one  of  the  men  came  running 
along  the  beach,  signaling  to  us.  Fearing  that 
they  were  in  trouble,  we  made  shift  to  land,  al- 
though it   was  no  easy  matter  on  this  exposed 


Tammmm 


Hi) 


TlIROUiUI   THE   YUKON  (iOLD  DlOaiKUS. 


rf 


II 


shore ;  and  wo  then  learned  that  they  had  kejit 
too  near  the  heach,  had  drifted  into  tlie  breakers 
and  had  been  swan>.[)ed,  but  had  all  safely 
landed.  Three  of  our  party  went  to  give  assist- 
ance in  hauling  their  ])oat  out  of  the  Avater, 
while  I  remained  behind  to  fry  the  bacon  for 
dinner. 

After  dinner  we  concludrd  to  wait  t.gain  be- 
fore attempting  the  next  stage ;  so  av<^  })ic'ked 
out  soft  places  in  the  sand  and  slumbered, 
yriien  we  awoke  we  found  the  lake  perfectly 
smooth  and  calm,  and  lost  no  time  in  getting 
under  way.  On  this  day  we  depended  for  oui' 
motive  power  solely  on  our  oars,  and  we  found 
the  results  so  satisfactory  that  we  kept  up  the 
practice  hundreds  of  miles. 

Below  Lake  Bennett  came  Tagish  Lake,  beauti- 
ful and  calm.  Its  largest  fi'/rd-like  aru)  is  fa- 
mous  for  its  heavy  gales,  '.vhence  it  has  been 
given  the  name  of  "Windy  Arm";  but  as  we 
])assed  it  we  could  hardly  distinguish  the  line  of 
division  between  the  mountains  in  the  air  and 
those  reflected  in  the  lake,  so  comj)letely  at  rest 
was  the  water.  At  the  lower  part,  wliere  we 
campen,    we   found    tlie    first   inhabitants    since 


i  i 


LAKES  AND   THE   YUKON  TO   FORTY  MILK.      HI 

Iciiving  the  coast,  natives  belonging  to  tiie  Tag- 
isli  iribe.  They  are  a  handful  of  wretched,  half- 
starved  creatures,  who  scatter  in  the  sunuuer 
season  for  hunting  and  fishing,  but  always  return 
to  this  place,  where  they  \vx\2  constructed  rude 
wooden  habitations  for  winter  use.  We  bought 
here  a  hirge  pike,  which  formed  an  agreeable 
change  from  bacons,  beans,  and  sl;'])jacks. 

While  camped  at  this  place  we  met  an  old  man 
and  his  two  sons,  who  had  brought  hoi'ses  into 
the  country  some  months  before,  with  some 
crazy  idea  of  taking  up  hind  for  farming  pur- 
poses, or  of  getting  gold.  The  old  man  had 
been  taken  sick,  and  all  three  were  now  on  their 
way  out,  having  abandoned  their  horses  on  the 
llootalinqua.  AH  three  were  thin  and  worn, 
and  agreed  if  they  ever  got  out  of  the  country 
they  wocld  not  come  back.  The  old  man  begged 
for  a  little  tea,  which  we  supplied  him,  together 
with  a  few  other  things  ;  he  insisted  on  our  tak- 
ing pay  for  them,  with  the  ptithetic  pride  of  a 
man  broken  in  health  and  fortune,  but  we  under- 
stood the  pione(M'  custom  well  enough  to  know 
we  should  give  no  oilence  by  refusing. 

After  passing  out  of  this  lake  we  entered  an- 


hi'    >l 


IjI'I 


^i:i 


'llM 


'  i; 


^1-1 /• 


HI' 

'I 
J) 

ill 


'i't 
.  '1 


!r 


I  'M'l 


w 


83 


Tiinouan  the  vikon  gold  diggings. 


otlier,  aj)i)r(>i)nately  called  by  the  miners  "Mud 
Lake";  it  is  very  shallow,  with  iiiuddy  bottom 
and  shores.  Here  we  found  camping'  disagree- 
able, i'or  on  account  of  the  shallowness  we  could 
not  bring  our  heavily  laden  b(xit  ([uite  to  the 
shore,  but  were  obliged  to  wade  knee  deep  in 
soft  mud  Tor  a  rod  or  two  before  linding  even 
ino(lei'at(;ly  solid  ground. 

About  this  time  we  experienced  the  first  sharj) 
taste  of  the  terrible  Alaskan  mos(juito — or  it 
might  be  more  coi'rect  to  reverse  the  statement, 
and  say  that  the  mosquitoes  had  their  iirst  taste 
of  us.  At  the  lower  end  of  Tagisli  Lake  they  sud- 
<leiily  attacked  us  in  swarms,  and  remained  with 
us  steadily  until  near  the  time  of  our  (lepartur<j 
fi'om  tli<>  TeiM'itory.  We  had  heard  several  times 
of  thc!  vai'ious  hardships  to  be  encountere<l  in 
Alaska,  but,  as  is  often  th(^  case,  we  found  that 
these  accounts  had  left  a  rather  unduly  magnitied 
inuige  of  the  dilficulties  in  our  itnaginations.  as 
compared  with  our  actual  ex|ieriences.  In  this 
generalization  the  moscjuito  must  b(> ,  xcepted.  I 
do  not  think  tlu«t  an\  (h'scription  or  adjective 
can  exaggei'at(^  th«'  discomfort  and  even  torture 
|)Voduced  in*  thest^  pt'sts.  ai  tln'ir  worst,  for  they 


-—)f 


LAKES  AM)    TltK    VIKOX    TO    FCHTY   MILE.      h;} 

stand  ])('(M'l('ss  iiiii(m<^'  their  Iciiid,  so  far  as  my  cx- 
pcrience  goes,  and  that  of  ()th<'i's  with  whom  I 
liavo  spoken,  for  wiclcediiess  uiiaHoycd. 

We  were  driven  nearly  frantic  when  they  at- 
tacke<l  us  and  (jiiickly  donned  veils  of  n(,'tting, 
fastened  uroiind  the  hat  and  hnttoned  into  the 
'jhirt,  and  gauntletod  cavalry  gloves  ;  hut  still  the 
boat  of  rowing  and  tli(3  warmth  of  the  sun  made 
tiie  stings  smart  till  wo  could  hardly  hear  it. 
Kroui  time  to  time  I  glanced  at  I'ete,  who  sat  in 
the  stern,  steei'ing  with  a  i»addle,  his  face  and 
hands  unpr<jtocte(l,  his  hat  [)ushed  hack,  trolling 
his  favorite  song. 

"And  none  wiis  lift  to  tell  inc,  'ruin, 
And  few  wiis  Icfl  to  kn<(\v 
\\'ii(»   pli'vcd  \\\\i)\\  the  \  illii;;(' ^iccn, 
,hist  t  ■  (  iit,\   vcar  iijiol  " 


''I; 

ill 


■li,. 


*^!' 


I  admired  him  ijcyond  ex|)ression.  "  How  long,'' 
thought  I,"doesone  have  t<j  stay  in  Alaska  heforo 
on(>  gets  so  indifferent  to  mos(|uitoes  as  this?  ( )r 
is  it  sim[)ly  the  phlegm  of  the  Noi'wcgian — mag- 
nilicent  in  moscjuito  tinu-y"  .lust  th«'n  I'ete 
In'oke  in  his  son'*'  and  hei^an  a  relVain  of  curses 
in   Norwegian  aiul    I'jigiish  and  some  other  lan- 


^.    ^ 


li': 


84 


TIlli()l(Hf    Tin:    YUKON  (U)IJ)   J)](J(JL\aS. 


I 


ill; 


m 


giiii;i,<'s  -iill  ;ij)i'o|)()S  of  iiio.s(|uito('s.  JI(^  averred 
eiii|)liatieiilly  that  nc^ver — no,  never — liad  Ik;  seen 
nios(|uitoes  (|uite  so  disagreeahlo.  1'liis  lasted 
about  liv(;  minutes;  then  ho  seLtk'd  down  to  a 
cahn  again.  I  i)erceived  that  men's  tem])ei's  may 
he  something  like  geysers — sonu;  keep  buhhling 
hot  water  continually,  while  others,  like  I*ete's, 
keep  (juiot  for  a  while  and  then  explode  violently. 

It  seems  strange  to  many  that  a  country  like 
Alaska,  sub-Arctic  in  climate,  should  be  so  i)ur- 
dened  with  a  pest  which  we  generally  associate 
with  liot  weather  and  tropical  swam})s.  JJut  the 
long  warm  days  of  summer  in  these  high  lati- 
tudes seem  to  be  extraordinarily  favorable  to  all 
kinds  of  insect  life — mosquitoes,  gnats,  and  flies 
— which  harbor  in  the  moss  and  dense  under- 
brush. Other  countries  sinularly  situated,  such 
as  the  region  between  the  Gulf  of  J3ot!inia  and 
the  Arctic  Ocean — Northern  Finland — which  is 
north  of  the  Arctic  Circle,  are  also  ])estei'ed 
with  mos(piitoes  dui-ing  the  summer  months. 

In  Alaska  the  moscpiitoes  are  so  numerous  that 
they  occuj)y  a  large  ])art  of  men's  attention,  and 
form  the  subject  for  much  conversation  as  long  as 
they  remain — and  they  are  astonishing  stayers, 


LAKES  AM)    THE    YUKON    TO   KOUTY   MILK.      H") 


a|»|M!;n'iiig  before;  tlic  snow  is  gone  and  not  leuv- 
in^'  until  tlio  niiihts  •ii-ow  conipai'ativolv  lony:  and 
IVosty.  Tlicy  il(^iu-isli  us  well  in  c(k>1  weather 
as  in  hot,  tliawiny:  cheerl'ullv  out  after  a  heavy 
frost  and  getting  to  work  as  if  to  make  up  for 
lost  time.  We  were  able  to  distinguish  at  least 
three  species :  a  large  one  like  those  met  at  the 
seaside  resorts,  which  buzzes  and  buzzes  and 
buzzes;  then  a  smaller  one  that  buzzes  a  little 
but  also  bites  ferociously  ;  and,  worst  of  all, 
little  striped  fellows  who  go  about  in  great 
crowds.  These  last  never  stoj)  to  buzz,  but  come 
straight  lor  the  intruder  on  a  bee-line,  stinging 
him  almost  before  they  reach  him — and  their 
sting  is  particularly  irritating.  Many  stories 
have  been  told  of  the  mos(|uitoes  in  Alaska;  one 
traveller  tells  how  bears  are  sometimes  killed 
by  these  pests,  though  this  story  is  probably  an 
exagg(!ration.  Hut  men  who  are  travelling 
must  have  veils  and  gloves  as  i-votection  against 
them.  Even  the  natives  wi-ap  their  heads  in 
skins  or  cloth,  jind  are  overjoyed  at  any  little 
piece  of  mosquito-netting  they  can  get  hold  of. 
With  th(!  best  pi'otection,  however,  one  cannot 
hell)  being  tormented  ami  worn  out. 


ill! 


lis 


I  i 


rt ' , 


ftO        TltliOVUH  THE   YUKON  aoLD   DiaOLXOS. 

AVe  ahvjiYS  slept  with  gloves  and  veils  on,  and 
with  our  lieads  wrapped  as  tightly  as  })ossii)le, 
v<'t  the  insects  would  crawl  throut^li  the  crevices 
of  the  blankets  and  sting  through  the  clothes,  or 
where  the  veil  pressed  against  the  face, — not  one, 
but  hundreds — so  that  one  slept  but  fitfully  and 
woke  to  lind  his  face  bloody  and  smarting,  and 
would  at  once  make  for  the  coL'  river  water, 
bathing  hands  and  face  to  j'eJiL.v  the  pain,  and 
dreading  to  kee[)  his  veil  U[)  loug  enough  to  gobble 
his  breakfast. 

The  climate  of  this  interior  country  is  dry,  aiul 
the  rains  infre(}uent.  AVe  woi'ked  so  l<jng  during 
the  day  that  we  seldom  took  the  trouble  to  ))it(h 
a  tent  at  night,  but  la}'  down  with  our  backs 
against  some  convenient  log,  so  that  the  mos- 
quitoes had  a  good  chance  at  us.  Even  in  the 
day,  wlum  protected  by  veil  and  gloves,  I  have 
been  so  irritated  by  them  as  to  run  until  breath- 
less to  relieve  mv  excitement,  Jind  1  can  readilv 
believe,  as  has  been  told,  that  a  man  lost  in  the 
underbrusii  without  lu'otection,  would  very  soon 
lase  his  reason  and  his  lif(\  As  soon  as  the  coun- 
try is  cleared  u|>  or  l>urned  ove?',  the  scoui'ge  be- 
comes much  less,  so  that  in  the  mining  cam[»s  the 


J'IA'J:s  AM)    TlfP    I'/-/-..., 

""■"'  "■'"■'"  tl..  ,.ve,.s«  i.s  tn„.     V        ":'  "'"'" 
va,lo  tl„,i,.  s„iit,„|,,,  "»-  I'.'ii'l^  ..I   ,Man  i,,. 

■»""-  X,',t„:"  •"',■■' ■"» 

;-, "  »c:::  ■:;::;::;":; ■ 

""^   '•"I".   »itl,o„t,  l,„„...  ■  ""  ""■'"  "•'■"' 

•■''''«  o-^o^ti,,,,.     «„t|„  ""    ""^    """■'•- 

tlio  riYov  „.,„.  ,  'tux led   /,.,,„, 

*-''  "**^^    ^''H'lc  close  t(,  i>       jv 

''""•;  this  ,„.„>.„,  ,„„^-"'  """' -"I- .M  ,i„. 


jiii 


•'"I 


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8H        TUliOVUll   THE    YUKON  GOLD  l)J(jaL\aS. 

been  misplaced,  and  all  hands  became  immedi- 
ately alert.  Soon  after,  we  noticed  a  bit  of  red 
llannel  Muttering  from  a  tree  projecting  over  tlie 
baidc,  doubtless  a  })art  of  some  travellerVs  shirt 
sacrificed  in  the  cause  of  hunumit}' ;  and  by  the 
time  Ave  had  pulled  in  to  the  shore  we  could  see 
the  waters  of  the  river  go  swirling  and  roaring 
into  a  sudden  narrow  canyon  with  high,  j)er- 
})endicular  walls. 

We  found  the  parties  of  miners  already  landed, 
and  presently,  as  we  waited  on  the  bank  and 
reconnoitered,  Danlon's  i)arty  came  up,  and  not 
long  after,  the  barge,  so  that  we  were  about 
twenty  in  all.  Wiborg,  and  Danlon's  guide. 
Cooper,  were  the  only  ones  that  had  had  ex- 
perience in  this  matter,  so  all  depended  on  their 
judgment,  and  waited  to  see  the  results  of  their 
efforts  before  risking  anything  themselves. 

In  former  years  all  travellers  made  a  })ortage 
around  this  very  difficult  place,  hauling  their 
boats  over  the  hill  with  a  rude  sort  of  a  wind- 
lass ;  but  a  man  having  been  accidentally  sucked 
into  the  canyon  came  out  of  the  other  end  all 
right,  which  emboldened  others.  In  this  case 
Wiborg   and   Cooper   decided  that   the   canA'on 


'<ii 


LAKES  AM)   THE   YLKUS   TO   FOliTY  MILE.      t<\) 


could  1)0  run,  although  the  water  was  very  higli 
and  turl)ulent;  and  they  thought  best  to  run 
the  boats  through  themselves.  Our  own  boat 
was  select''d  to  be  experimented  with;  most  of 
the  articles  that  were  easily  damageable  by  water 
were  taken  out,  leaving  })erhaps  about  eight 
hundred  pounds.  I  went  as  })assenger  sitting  in 
the  bow,  while  the  two  old  frontiersmen  managed 
paddles  and  oars.  Rowing  out  from  the  shoi-o 
we  were  immediately  sucked  into  the  gorge,  and 
went  dashing  through  at  a  rate  which  1  thought 
could  not  i)e  less  than  twenty  miles  an  hour.  ISo 
great  is  the  body  of  water  confined  between 
these  per[)endicular  walls,  and  so  swift  is  the 
stream,  that  its  surface  becomes  convex,  being 
consideraldv  higher  in  the  centre  of  the  channel 
than  on  the  sides.  AVaves  rushing  in  every  di- 
rection are  also  generated,  forming  a  puzzling 
chop.  Two  or  three  of  these  waves  presently 
boarded  us,  so  tluit  [  was  thoroughly  wet,  and 
then  came  a  broad  glare  of  sunlight  as  we 
emerged  from  the  first  half  of  the  canyon  into  a 
sort  of  cauldron  which  lies  about  in  its  centre. 

Here    we    were    twisted    about    by    eddying 
currents  for  a  few  seconds,  and  then  pi'(H'i[)itated 


it'(. 

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TJIL'Oldll    THE    YIKON  GOLD   DKldlMlS. 


liiilf  sidowiso  into  the  canyon  {i^uiii.  'i'li(>  hitter 
liall'  turned  out  to  he  the  rou^lier  j)art,  and  our 
l)o\v  di|)|»ed  re]»eate<lly  into  the  waves,  till  I 
found    nivseli"   sittiiiii'   in    water,  and    the    ho 


w 


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wliere  most  oi  tiiu  water  i*einaine(K  sii^'^ct 
ahirinin^ly.  It  seemed  as  if  another  (hieking 
wouhl  sinlv  us.  This  fortunately  we  did  not  get, 
hut  steered  safely  through  the  iinal  swirl  to 
smooth  water.  During  all  tiiis  trij)  1  had  not 
looked  \\\)  once,  although  as  we  shot  hy  we  heard 
faintly  a  eheer  from  the  rocks  above,  wiiere  our 
companions  were. 

JS'e.\t  day.  after  a  night  made  almost  uid)ear- 
ahle  hy  moscjuitoes,  we  rose  to  face  the  dilhcul- 
ties  of  White  Horse  Rapids,  which  lie  below  the 
canyon  proper,  and  are  still  more  formidable. 
Here  the  river  conti-acts  again,  and  is  confined 
between  ])erpen(liculcn'  walls  of  basalt.  The 
channel  is  full  of  pi'ojecting  rocks,  so  that  the 
whole  surface  is  broken,  and  thee  are  many 
stront"'  eonllicting  currents  and  eddies.  At  the 
end  of  these  rapids,  which  extend  for  a  (piiU'ter 
of  ji  mile  oi-  so,  is  a  narrow  goi'ge  in  the  rocks, 
through  which  the  whole  volume  <»f  water  is 
forced.     This  is  said  to  be  only  twenty  or  thirty 


A.IA'/.W   AM)    THE    YVKOS    TO   IVllTY   MILK.      Hi 


feet  wide,  althoii^^h  at  the  time  of  our  passiiif^ 
tlH3  water  was  siilliciontly  lii^li  to  How  over  tlio 
t(j|)  of  the  enclosing  walls,  thus  concealing  the 
actual  width  of  the  chute.  Through  this  the 
water  [)lunges  at  a  tremendous  velocity — proha- 
bly  thirty  miles  an  iiour — forming  roaring,  foam- 
ing, tossing,  lashing  waves  which  somehow  make 
the  name  White  Horse  seem  aj)|)ro[»riate. 

Above  the  beginning  of  the  rapid  we  uidoaded 
our  boat,  and  carefully  lowered  it  down  by 
ropes,  lvee[)ing  it  close  to  the  shori',  and  ()Ut  of 
the  resistless  main  current.  After  having  safely 
landed  it,  with  considerable  trouble,  below  the 
chute,  we  carried  our  outfit  (about  twelve  hun- 
dred pounds)  to  the  same  j)oint.  Daidon's  boat 
and  that  belonging  to  the  minei's  w<'r(^  safi'ly 
gotten  through  in  the  same  way,  all  hands  helj)- 
ing  in  turn. 

AVhen  it  came  to  the  scow,  it  was  the  general 
opinion  that  it  would  be  imi)ossil)le  to  lowei'  it 
safely,  for  its  s(juare  sliape  gave  the  cui'i'cnt  such 
a  grip  that  it  seemed  as  if  no  available  sti'cngth 
of  rope  f)r  man  could  hold  out  against  it.  As 
cari'ying  the  boat  was  out  of  the  question,  the 
onlv  alternative  was  to  Ix^ldlv  I'un  it  thi-ouj'-h  the 


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Photographic 

Sciences 
Corporation 


23  WEST  MAIN  STREET 

WEBSTER,  NY.  14580 

(716)  872-4503 


V   ..  "^-^ 


^> 


93 


TJIIiOl'UlI   THE   YIKOX  (iULl)  DKldlSUS. 


rapids,  in  the  middle  of  the  channel ;  and  this 
naturally  hazardous  undertaking  was  rendered 
more  diificult  by  the  trail  construction  of  the 
scow,  which  had  been  built  of  thin  lumber  bv 
unskilled  hands.  The  scow's  crew  did  not  care 
to  make  the  venture  themselves,  but  iinally  })re- 
vailed  upon  \Viborg  and  Cooper  to  make  the 
trial. 

lleflecting  that  at  any  time  I  might  be  placed 
in  similar  difficulties,  in  this  unknown  country, 
and  thrown  upon  my  own  resources,  I  resolved 
to  accompany  them,  for  the  sake  of  iinding  out 
how  the  thing  was  done  ;  but  I  was  ruled  out  of 
active  service  by  "VViborg,  who,  however,  con- 
sented finally  to  my  going  along  as  })assenger. 
Two  of  the  scow's  own  crew  were  drafted  to  act 
as  oarsmen,  and  we  pushed  out,  Cooper  steering, 
and  Wiborg  in  the  bow,  iron-shod  polo  in  hand, 
fending  off  from  threatening  rocks;  and  in  a 
second  we  were  dancing  down  the  boiling  rapids 
and  tossing  hither  and  thither  like  a  cork.  I  sat 
facing  the  bow,  opposite  the  oarsmen,  who 
tugged  frantically'  awa\%  white  as  death  ;  behind 
me  Cooper's  j)addle  flashed  and  twisted  rapidly, 
as   we    dodged    by   rocks   projecting   from   the 


LAKES  AND   TUE   YUKON  TO  FOIHT  MILE.      1)3 

water,  soiiietinies  escai)ing  only  by  a  few  inclies, 
wlierc  a  collision  would  have  smashed  us  to 
chips.  The  rest  of  the  l)arty,  waiting  below  the 
chute,  said  that  sometimes  they  saw  onlv  the 
bottow  of  the  scow,  and  sometimes  looked  down 
upon  it  as  if  from  above.    As  we  neared  the  end, 


SiioDTiN'cj  TiiK  "White  Hoksk  Kapids. 

Cooper's  skillful  paddle  drove  us  straight  for  the 
centre,  where  tho  water  formed  an  actual  fall ; 
this  central  part  was  the  most  turbulent,  but  the 
safest,  for  on  either  side,  a  few  feet  away,  there 
was  danger  of  grazing  the  shallow  underlying 


i 


M 


ill 

:       ! 


U* 


1  I 


Jif 


!)j      riinoicn  the  yukos  hold  Diuaixus. 


Ui 


rocks.  As  we  trembled  on  tlie  brink,  1  looked 
up  and  saw  our  friends  standing  close  by,  look- 
ing much  concerned.  A  moment  later  there  was 
a  dizzying  plunge,  a  blinding  shower  of  water,  a 
sudden  tlashing,  too  swift  for  observation,  past 
rock  walls,  and  then  Wiborg  let  out  an  exultant 
yell — we  were  safe.  At  that  instant  one  of  the 
oarsmen  snap])ed  his  oar,  an  accident  which 
would  have  been  serious  a  moment  before.  On 
the  shore  below  the  rapids  we  found  Hour-sacks, 
valises,  boxes  and  splintered  boai'ds,  mementoes 
of  poor  fellows  less  lucky  than  ourselves. 

AVe  cami)ed  at  the  mouth  of  the  Tahkeena 
Uiver  that  night,  and  arrived  the  next  day  at 
Lake  Labarge,  the  last  and  longest  of  the  series. 
AVhen  we  reached  it,  at  one  o'clock,  the  water 
was  calm  and  smooth ;  and  although  it  was 
nearly  forty  miles  across,  we  decided  to  keep  on 
without  stoi)ping  till  we  reached  the  other  side, 
for  fear  of  strong  winds  such  as  had  delayed  us 
on  Lake  liennett.  Danlon's  party  c(mcluded  to 
do  the  same,  and  so  we  rowed  steadily  all  niglit, 
after  having  rowed  all  day. 

About  two  o'clock  in  the  morning  a  favorable 
wind  sprung  up   suddenly,  and    increased  to  a 


LAKES  AM)   THE   rUKOX  TO  FORTY  MILE.      Do 


gale.  At  this  time  we  became  separated  from 
the  other  boats,  which  kept  somewhat  ch>se  to 
the  shore,  while  wt,  with  our  tiny  sail,  stood 
straight  across  the  lake  for  the  outlet.  As  soon 
as  we  stopped  rowing  1  could  not  help  falling 
asleep,  although  mucU  against  my  will,  for  our 
position  was  neither  comfortable  nor  secure ; 
and  thus  I  dozed  and  woke  half  a  dozen  times 
before  landing.  On  reaching  the  shore  we  found 
ditHculty  in  sleeping  on  account  of  the  swarms  of 
hungry  mosquitoes,  so  we  soon  loaded  up  again. 
We  had  got  caribou  meat  from  some  people 
whom  we  passed  half-way  down  Lake  Laharge; 
and  the  next  day  we  saw  a  moose  on  an  island, 
but  the  current  swept  us  by  before  we  could  got 
a  shot  at  him.  Large  game,  on  the  whole,  how- 
ever, was  very  scarce  along  this  route.  The 
weather  was  warm  and  ])leasant  after  leaving 
Lake  Labarge,  and  there  were  no  serious  obstruc- 
tions. The  swift  current  bombarded  the  bottom 
of  the  boat  with  grains  of  sand,  making  a  sound 
like  a  continual  frying.  ''Look  out!"  Pete 
would  say.  "The  devil  is  frying  his  fat  for  us !  " 
We  travelled  casiiv  sixtv  or  eiL^htv  miles  a  dav, 
floating  with  the  current  and  rowing. 


I  1 


■! 


m 


rmionm  the  yikos  gold  dichisus. 


Danlon's  party,  wliicli  \vc  luul  lost  si«;lit  of  on 
Lake  Lal)ar«i;e,  readied  us  a  coii})le  of  days  after- 
wards, liaviny  pulled  ni<^lit  and  day  to  catch 
up.  They  were  grey  and  speckled  with  fatigue 
and  told  us  of  having  decided  to  leave  one 
boat  (they  came  with  only  one  of  the  two  they 
had  started  in)  at  Lake  Labarge,  and  also  of 
leaving  some  of  their  j)rovisions.  They  had  un- 
fortunately forgotten  to  keep  any  sugar — could 
we  lend  them  some  ?  AVe  produced  the  sugar 
and  smiled  knowingly ;  a  few  days  later  we  ran 
across  the  solitary  Dutchman,  who  had  en- 
gineered his  wood-box  thus  far,  and  he  told  us 
the  whole  story :  how  when  the  boats  got  near 
the  shore  one  was  swamped  in  shallow  water, 
losing  most  of  its  cargo,  and  how  the  occu})ants 
had  to  stand  in  cold  water  the  rest  of  the  night, 
finally  getting  to  shore  and  to  rights  again.  The 
priest  had  been  naming  the  camps  after  the  let- 
ters of  the  Greek  alphabet,  and  the  night  on 
Labarge  should  have  been  Camp  Rho ;  and  this 
was  appropriate  as  we  rowed  nearly  all  night. 

From  here  the  journey  was  comparatively 
easy.  The  skies  were  always  clear  and  blue,  and 
the  stream  had  by  this  time  increased  to  a  lordly 
\ 


LAKr:s  AND   THE   rCKOX   TO   FOinV  MILE.      97 


river,  yi"o\vin<j  largei*  by  continual  accessions  of 
new  tributaries.  It  is  dotted  with  many  small 
islands,  which  are  covered  with  a  dense  growth 
of  evergreen  trees.  On  the  side  of  the  valley 
are  often  long  smooth  terraces,  perfectly  carved 
and  smoothly  grassed,  so  as  to  present  an  almost 
artificial  aspect.  From  this  sort  of  a  country  are 
sudden  changes  to  a  more  bold  and  picturesque 
type,  so  at  one  time  the  river  flows  swiftly 
through  high  gates  of  purple  rock  rising  stee[)ly 
for  hundreds  of  feet,  and  in  a  few  moments 
more  emerges  into  a  wide  low  valley.  The 
cliffs  are  sometimes  carved  into  buttresses  or 
pinnacles,  which  overlook  the  walls,  and  appear 
to  form  part  of  a  gigantic  and  impregnable 
castle,  on  the  top  of  which  the  dead  spruces 
stand  out  against  the  sky  like  spires  and  Hag- 
staves.  Usually  on  one  side  or  tiie  other  of  the 
river  is  low  fertile  land,  where  grows  a  profusion 
of  shrubs  and  flowers. 

In  the  mellow  twilight,  which  lasts  for  two  or 
three  hours  in  the  middle  of  tiie  night,  one  can 
see  nearly  as  far  and  as  distinctly  as  bv  day,  but 
everything  takes  on  an  unreal  air.  This  is  some- 
thing like  a  beautiful  sunset  effect  further  south, 


1 


•i 


1)H 


Til  HO  fa  II   rilE   YUKOS  (JOLI)  J)I<i<iL\(iS. 


but  is  ovenly  distributed  over  all  tlie  landscape. 
At  al)out  ten  o'clock  the  coloring  becomes  ex- 
(juisite,  when  the  halt-light  brings  out  the  vio- 
lets, the  purples,  and  various  shades  of  3'elh)\v 
and  brown  in  the  rocks,  in  contrast  to  the  green 
of  the  vegetation. 


'  'k 


Talkiko  it  Over. 


We  had  some  difficulty  in  finding  suitable 
camping-places  in  this  country.  One  night  J  re- 
member, we  ran  iifteen  miles  after  our  usual 
camping-hour,  witii  cliffs  on  ime  side  of  the  river 


LAh'KS  AND   TJIK    ITAOA'  TO   FOliTY  MILE,      m 

and  l«)\v  tliick<'ts  <m  tlio  otlior.  Tliroo  tinu's  we 
landed  on  small  islands,  in  a  tangle  of  vinos  and 
roses ;  and  as  many  times  we  wen'  driven  off  h\ 
the  innumeruble  mosquitoes.  At  last  we  found 
a  strip  of  shore  about  ten  feet  wide,  between  the 
water  and  the  thickets,  sloping  at  a  considerable 
angle;  and  there  we  made  shift  to  spend  the 
niglit. 

Tlnre  are  two  places  below  the  White  Horse 
Uapids  where  the  channel  is  so  narrowed  or 
shallowed  that  rapids  are  formed.  At  the  first 
of  these,  called  the  "  Five  Finger  Kapids,"  the 
river  is  partially  blocked  by  high  islets,  which 
cut  up  the  stream  in  several  portions,  Although 
the  currents  in  each  of  these  "fingers"  is  rapid, 
and  the  water  rough,  yet  W(^  f«)und  no  difficulty 
in  running  through  without  removing  any  part 
of  the  load,  although  one  of  the  boats  shi])ped  a 
little  water.  AVhcn  we  arrived  at  the  second 
place,  which  is  called  the  "  Itink  liapids,"  and  is 
not  far  below  the  Five  Fingers,  we  were  re- 
lieved to  lind  that  owing  to  the  fullness  of  the 
river,  the  rough  water,  which  in  this  case  is 
caused  by  the  shallowing  of  the  stream,  was 
smoothed  down,  and  we  went  through,  close  to 


I 


m 


It    t 


5 
'i  i 


HK»    Tirnoraii  the  yvkon  gold  dusuisus. 

the  shore,  witli  no  more  trouble  than  if  we  had 
been  floating  (h)vvn  a  lake. 

During  tlie  whole  trip  the  country  through 
which  we  passed  was  singularly  lonely  and  unin- 
habited. After  leaving  the  few  huts  on  Tagish 
Lake,  which  I  have  mentioned,  we  saw  a  few  In- 
dians in  a  summer  camp  on  Lake  Labarge ;  and 
this  was  all  until  we  got  to  the  junction  of  the 
Lewes  and  l*elly  Kivers,  over  three  hundred  miles 
from  Tagish  Lake.  At  Pelly  we  found  a  log 
trading-post,  with  a  single  white  man  in  charge, 
and  a  few  Indians.  There  were  also  three  miners, 
who  had  met  with  misfortune,  and  were  discon- 
solate enough.  They  had  started  \\\>  Pelly  Kiver 
with  a  two  years'  outfit,  intending  to  renuiin  and 
prospect  for  that  period,  but  at  some  rapid  water 
their  boat  had  been  swamped  and  all  their  pro- 
visions lost.  They  had  managed  to  burn  off  logs 
enough  to  build  a  raft,  and  in  that  way  had 
floated  down  the  river  to  the  post,  living  in  the 
meantime  on  some  flour  which  thev  had  been 
lucky  enough  to  pick  up  after  the  wreck. 

Although  there  are  very  few  people  in  the 
country,  one  is  continually  surprised  at  first  by 
perceiving  solitary  white  tents  standing  on  some 


LAKKS  AM)   THE   YVKOS   7Y>   FOIiTY  MILE.    lOl 

proiuinont  jxjint  or  clill'  vvliich  overlooks  the  river. 
At  first  this  looks  very  cheerful,  and  \V(«  sent 
many  a  hearty  hail  across  the  river  to  such  places ; 
but  our  calls  were  never  answered,  for  these  are 
not  the  habitations  of  the  living  but  of  the  dead. 
Inside  of  each  of  these  tents,  which  are  ordinarily 
made  of  white  cloth,  tliough  sometimes  of  woven 
matting,  is  a  dead  Indian,  and  near  him  is  laid 
his  rifle,  snowshoes,  ornaments  and  other  per- 
sonal effects.  I  do  not  tliink  the  custom  of  leav- 
ing these  articles  at  the  grave  implies  any  belief 
that  thev  will  be  used  bv  the  dead  man  in  another 
world,  but  simply  signilies  that  he  will  have  no 
more  use  for  the  things  which  were  so  dear  to 
him  in  life — just  as  among  ourselves,  articles 
which  have  been  used  bv  dear  friends  are  hence- 
forth  laid  aside  and  no  longer  used.  These  dwell- 
ings of  the  dead  are  always  put  in  prominent  po- 
sitions, comuuinding  as  broad  and  fair  a  view  as 
can  be  obtained.  At  Pelly  we  saw  several  Indian 
graves  that  were  surrounded  by  hewn  palings, 
rudely  and  fantastical Iv  painted. 

When  we  reached  the  White  liiver  we  found 
it  nearly  as  broad  as  the  Vuk«)n.  The  waters  of 
the  two  rivers  are  separated  by  a  distinct  line  at 


\  V 


'K 


ut'2    rnninaii  rui:  yi  kox  holj)  j)ih(.j.\(i,s. 

tlicir  conHiU'iuu;  and  for  soiiio  ilistaiicc  fni'tlici* 
down,  tln!  Yukon  water  Wfin^  dark  and  tlicotlu'r 
milky,  wlicncr  the  nanu;  — White  llivcr.  All  over 
this  country  is  ji  thin  deposit  of  white  dusrliku 
volcanic  ash,  covering  the  surface,  hut  on  White 
Kiver  this  ash  is  very  tliick,  and  the  river  low- 
ing through  it  carries  awav  enough  to  give  the 
waters  continually  a  milky  appearance.  As  we 
approached  White  River  we  heiield  what  seemed 
a  most  extraordinary  cloud  hanging  over  its  val- 
ley. It  was  u  solid  compact  mass  of  white,  like 
some  great  ice-Mower  rising  from  the  hills,  re- 
minding one  as  one  explored  it  through  field- 
glasses,  in  its  snowy  vs'stness  and  une\enness,  of 
sonu;  great  glaciei'.  The  clouds  were  in  rounded 
hunches  and  each  bunch  was  crenulated.  Below 
was  a  mass  of  smoke  with  a  ruddy  etlection  as 
if  from  some  great  lire,  and  sinaller  snowy  com- 
pact clouds  came  up  at  intervals,  as  if  gulped  out 
from  souH'  crater.  This  we  thought  might  be  the 
fabled  volcano  of  the  AVhite  IJiver,  but  on  get- 
ting nearer  it  seemed  to  be  probably  a  forest-lire. 
Although  there  are  no  railway  trains  to  set  fires 
with  their  sparks,  nowhere  do  fires  start  more 
easily  than  in  Alaska,  for  the  ground  is  generally 


I 


LAk'Ks  J  A/;  77/ a;  riKus'  TO  Ft  firry  milk,  kkj 

covcptMl  (li'cjt  witli  a  prat  liU»' «lrv  moss,  wliicli  i;;- 
iiiti's  wlu'ii  olio  IJH^Iits  a  lire  al>ov«>  and  siiioiiWIci's 
so  persistently  that  it  can  lianlly  Im>  cxtiii^niislMni, 
cr<M'piii«r  aloii;,^  midei'  tlu^  ro«)ts  of  tlic  living  moss 
and  hreakin^  out  into  llaiiio  on  opportunity. 

Tlio  Foiirtli  of  .lulv  was  cidoWrated  bv  slioot- 
iii^r  at  a  mark  ;  and  tliat  iii^lit  wo  h:>  !  i,  truo  Moss- 
wv^  for  wocampod  on  a  littlo  baro  saiuLspitun  an 
island,  wlioro  tlio  wind  was  brisl'  and  kept  tlio 
moscpiitoos  away.  Those  insocls  can'iot  stand 
;?;.;•  inst  a  hroozo,  but  aro  whisked  away  by  it  like 
tlio  imps  of  darkness  at  the  first  breath  of  (iod's 
morning  light,  as  wo  have  read  in  fairy  stories. 
Tiie  freedom  was  delicious,  so  we  just  stretched 
ourselves  in  the  sami,  and  slept  ten  hours.  We 
were  awakened  by  a  violent  plunge  in  the  water 
and  stuck  our  ln'ads  out  of  the  blankets  in  a 
hurry,  thinking  it  was  a  moose;  but  it  turned 
out  t«)  Ix;  only  one  of  our  party  eelebrating  the 
dav  after  the  Fourth  bv  a  bath. 

At  Si.xty  Mile  we  found  an  Indian  tra<ling-j)ost, 
located  on  an  island  in  the  river,  and  kept  by 
Jo  La  Du,  a  lonelv  trader  who  a  xq'av  afterwards 
became  rich  and  famous  from  his  particij)ation  in 
the  Klondike  rush,      lie  had  no  idea  of  this  when 


iM' 


\4 


'HJ* 


I 


mm 


mmmmm 


■■■ 


I.  U  ! 


H 


104      rUROUOH  rVK   YUKON  GOLD  DK.'GJNGS. 

we  saw  him,  but  shook  hands  with  us  shyly  and 
silently,  a  man  whom  years  had  made  more  ac- 
customed to  the  Indian  than  to  the  white  man. 

The  name  Sixty  Mile  is  applied  to  a  small  river 
here,  which  is  sixtv  miles  from  old  Fort  Iteli- 
ance,  an  ancient  trading  i)ost  belonging  to  the 
Hudson  Jiay  Company.  The  hardy  and  intrepid 
agents  of  the  company  were  the  first  white  men 
to  ex[)lore  the  interior  of  Alaska.  The  lower 
Yukon  in  the  vicinity  of  the  delta  was  explored 
bv  the  llussians  in  1885  to  1888,  and  the  river  was 
culled  by  the  Eskimo  name  of  Kwikpuk  or 
Kwikpak, — the  great  river  :  in  1842-8  the  Russian 
Lieutenant  Zagoskin  explored  as  far  as  the 
Nowikakat.  l»ut  the  upper  Yukon  was  first  ex- 
plored by  members  of  the  Hudson  Bay  Company. 
In  184»>  a  trader  named  V>e\\  crossed  from  the 
!^^ackenzie  to  the  Porcupine,  and  so  down  to  the 
Yukon,  to  which  he  first  ap])lied  the  name  by 
which  it  is  now  known  :  it  is  an  Indian,  not 
Eskimo,  word.  Previous  to  this,  in  184(»,  Kob- 
ert  Campbell,  of  the  Hudson  Pay  Comi)any, 
crossed  from  the  Stikeen  to  the  Pelly  and  so  down 
to  its  ju..ction  with  the  Lewes  or  upper  Yukon. 
At   the   point   of   the  junctiim   Campl)ell   built 


LAKES  AM)    THE   VIKON   TO   FORTY  MILE.    lor. 


Fort  Selkirk,  which  was  afterwards  piUaged  and 
burned  by  the  Indians,  and  remained  deserted  till 
Harper  built  the  present  [)ost,  close  to  the  site  of 
the  old  one.  Forty  miles  below  old  Fort  Reliance 
is  Fortv  Mile  Creek,  so  that  the  mouths  of  Forty 
Mile  and  Sixty  Mile  are  a  hundred  miles  apart. 
The  river  by  this  time  is  a  mile  wide  in  places, 
and  filled  with  low  wooded  islands :  its  water  is 
muddy  and  the  eddying  currents  give  the  appear- 
ance of  boiling. 

We  found  no  one  on  the  site  of  old  Fort  Reli- 
ance, and  we  used  the  fragments  of  the  old  build- 
ings lying  around  in  the  grass  for  fire-Avood.  It 
was  practically  broad  daylight  all  night,  for  al- 
though the  sun  went  down  behind  the  hills  for  an 
hour  or  two,  yet  it  was  never  dai'ker  than  a 
cloudy  day. 

The  day  of  leaving  Fort  Reliance  we  came  to 
the  junction  of  the  Klondike  or  Thronduc  River 
with  the  Yukon,  and  found  here  a  village  of 
probably  two  hundred  Indians,  but  no  white 
men.  The  Indians  were  living  in  log  cabins  :  on 
the  sliore  numbers  of  narrow  and  shallow  birch 
canoes  were  drawn  t^p,  very  graceful  and  delicate 
in  shiipe,  and   marvellously  light,  weighing  only 


!1 


HI 

4 


11 


i(»(j    TiiRoraii  THE  YiKoy  (;(>Li)  Diainsas. 

al)()Ut  tliirtv  ixninds,  luit  vorv  dilllcult  tor  jmv 
ono  l)ut  an  Indian  to  nianci'iivre.  Vel  tlio  na- 
tives spear  salmon  IVoin  these  boats.  At  tln' 
time  we  were  there  most  of  the  male  Imlians 
were  stationed  ahmji*'  the  river,  ea«^erly  watching- 
for  the  lirst  sahnoii  to  leap  out  of  the  water,  lor 
about  this  time  of  the  year  the  immigration  of 
these  fish  begins,  and  they  swim  up  the  rivers 
from  the  sea  thousands  of  miles,  to  j)lace  their 
spawn  in  some  quiet  ereek.  On  account  of  the 
large  number  of  salmon  who  turn  aside  to  enter 
the  stream  here,  the  Indians  called  it  Thron-duc 
or  Jjf</i-waf('r;  this  is  now  corrupted  by  the  min- 
ers into  Klondike,  the  Indian  village  is  replaced 
by  the  frontier  city  of  Dawson,  and  the  fame  of 
the  Klondike  is  throughout  the  world. 

The  trip  of  forty  miles  from  Fort  Iteliance  to 
Forty  Mile  Post  was  made  in  the  morning,  and 
was  enlivened  by  an  exciting  race  between  our 
boat  and  that  belonging  to  Danhm.  AVe  had  kept 
pretty  closely  together  on  all  our  trij),  ])assing 
and  re[)assing  <me  another,  but  our  boat  was  gener- 
ally ahead;  and  when  we  both  encamped  at  Fort 
Reliance,  the  otlu'r  party  resolved  to  outwit  us. 
So  they  got  up  early  in  the  morning  and  slipped 


Alaska  IIimi'HAcki:!)  Sai.mdx,  Mai.k  and  Fkmai 

107 


•  u 


11 

1   t       !    H 

1 1 

iii 


'  I 


111 


I 


» 
KlH 


Tiriioraii  tiik  yukon  (.old  niinnNas. 


t 


f  ;! 


awcay  before  we  were  well  awake.  When  we  dis- 
covered that  they  were  gone,  we  got  otf  after  them 
as  quickly  as  possible,  but  as  the  current  flows 
about  seven  niiles  an  hour,  and  they  were  row- 
ing hard  besides,  they  were  long  out  of  sight  of 
us.  However,  we  buckled  down  to  hard  rowing, 
each  pulling  a  single  oar  only,  and  relieving  one 
another  at  intervals,  tugging  away  as  desper- 
ately as  if  «")niething  im[)ortant  dei)ended  on  it. 
When  we  were  already  in  sight  of  Forty  Mile 
Post  we  spied  our  op])onents'  boat  about  a  mile 
ahead  of  us,  and  we  soon  overhauled  them,  for 
they  had  already  spent  themselves  by  hard  row- 
ing. Then  Pete  knew"  a  little  channel  which  led 
up  to  the  very  centre  of  the  camj),  while  the  oth- 
ers took  the  more  roundabout  way,  so  that  we 
arrived  and  were  quite  settled — we  assumed  a 
very  negligent  air,  as  if  we  had  been  there  all 
day — when  the  others  arrived,  AV^e  called  this 
the  great  Anglo-American  boat  race  and  crowed 
not  a  little  over  the  finish. 


,<i  = 


CHAPTER  IV. 


TIIK   FUUTY    MILE   DKiCJIXfJS. 

poRTYMILE  CREEK  is  the  oldest  mining 
camp  in  the  Vukon  country,  and  the  first 
where  coarse  gold  („. "  o-uich  diggings  "  was  found. 
In  the  fall  of  1880  a  prospector  by  tiie  name  of 
Franklin  discovered  the  i)recious  metal  near  the 
mouth  of  what  is  now  called  Forty  Mile  Creek. 
This   stream  was  put  down  on  the  old  maps  as 
the  Shitando  River,  but  miners  are  very  independ- 
ent   in  their  nomenclature,  and  often  adopt  a 
new  name  if  the  old  one  does  not  suit  them,  j)re- 
ferring  a  simple  term  with  an  evident  meaning  to 
the  more  euphonious  ones  suggestive  of  Pullman 
cars.     At  the  time  of  the  discovery  of  gold  there 
was  a  post  of  the  Alaskan  Commercial  Company 
at   the  mouth  of  the  stream,  but  the  trader  in 
charge,  Jack  McQuesten,  was  absent  in  San  Fran- 
cisco.    As    the   supplies   at  the  post  were  very 
low,  and   a   rush  of  miners  to  the  district  was 
anticipated  for  the  next  summer,  it  was  thought 

109 


in 


"i 


1 

I    I 


no    Tiiitomnt  rut:  yukon  gold  Dwaiyas. 

best  to  try  to  get  word  to  the  trader,  iind  (ieorge 
Williiinis  undertook  to  cai'ry  out  a  letter  in  mid- 
winter. 

Accoin])anied  bv  an  Indian,  he  succeeded  in 
attaining  tiie  Chillcoot  J'ass,  but  was  there 
frozen  to  deatli.  The  letter,  however,  was  car- 
ried to  the  i)ost  at  Dyea  by  the  Indian,  and 
tiie  necessary  supplies  were  sent,  tlius  averting 
the  threatened  famine.  From  ls>s7  to  \s[K]  the 
various  gulches  of  Forty  IMile  Creek  were  the 
greatest  g<dd  producers  of  the  Yukon  country, 
but  by  l.S!>;)  the  sui)|)lies  of  goUi  began  to  show 
exhaustion;  and  about  this  time  a  Russian  half- 
breed,  by  the  name  of  Fitka,  discovered  gold  in 
the  bars  of  IJirch  Creek,  some  two  hundred  miles 
further  down  the  Yukon. 

A  large  i)art  of  the  population  of  the  Forty 
Mile  district  rushed  to  the  new  diggings  and 
built  the  mining  camp  to  which  they  gave  the 
name  of  Circle  City,  from  its  ])r()xinnty  to  the 
Arctic  Circle.  The  Forty  Mile  district  is  partly 
in  British  and  partly  in  American  territory,  since 
the  boundarv  line  ci'osses  the  streanj  some  dis- 
tance  above  its  mouth,  while  IJirch  Creek  is  en- 
tirely  in    American    territoiy.      The    world-re- 


THE  FUliTY  MILE   DK.aiMiS. 


Ill 


nowned  Klondike,  agiiin,  is  within  British  bound- 
aries. 80  the  tide  of  mining  [jopulation  has 
ebbed  back  and  forth  in  tiie  Yukon  country, 
each  wave  growing  hirger  tlum  the  first,  till  it 
culminated  in  the  third  of  the  great  worUl-rushes 
after  gold,  exciting,  wild  and  romantic — tiie 
Klondike  boom,  a  fit  successor  to  the  '*  forty- 
nine"  days  of  California,  and  to  the  events  which 
followed  the  discovery  of  gold  in  xVustralia. 

At  the  time  of  our  visit,  in  18'J0,  Forty  Mile 
Post  was  distinctly  on  the  tlecline.  Yet  it  con- 
tained probably  5(iu  or  000  iidiabitants,  not 
counting  the  Imlians,  of  whom  there  were  a 
considerable  number.  These  Indians  were  called 
Charley  Indians,  from  their  chief  Charley. 
There  is  a  mission  near  here  and  the  Indians 
have  all  been  Christianized.  It  is  told  tha^,  the 
Tanana  Indians,  who  had  no  mission,  and  who 
came  here  out  of  their  wild  fastnesses  onlv  once 
in  a  while  to  trade,  did  not  embrace  Christianity, 
which  rather  elated  Charley's  followers,  as  thev 
consideretl  that  they  now  had  decidedly  the  ad- 
vantage ;  and  they  o[)enly  vaunted  of  it.  In 
this  country  at  certain  times  of  the  year,  par- 
ticularly in  the  fall,  great  herds  of  caribou  pass, 


M 


^1 


m 


l|. 


:i 


n  I 


11 J    Til  110 L  an  THE  yukon  hold  diuoinus. 


\\ 


1 1 . 

i: 


■  r 


I  I 


I 


and  tlion  one  can  slaujflitor  as  iiianv  as  he  needs 
for  the  winter's  su|)[)ly  of  meat,  without  much 
iiunting,  for  tiie  animals  select  some  trail  and 
are  not  easily  scared  from  it.  One  fall  a  herd 
marched  u[)  one  of  the  busiest  mining  gulches  of 
I^irch  Creek  and  the  miners  stood  in  their  cabin 
doors  and  shot  them. 

So  the  Indians  al\»'ays  Avatcli  as  eagerly  for 
the  caribou,  as  they  do  for  the  salmon  in  the 
summer.  J]ut  this  particular  fall  it  happened 
that  the  animals  stayed  away  from  the  Charley 
Indians'  hunting  grounds,  but  passed  through 
those  of  the  Tananas  in  force.  The  heathen 
then  came  down  to  the  trading  })ost  laden  with 
meat,  and  the  chief,  who  knew  a  little  English, 
taunted  Charley  in  it. 

"  Where  moose,  Charley  ?  "  he  asked. 

"  No  moose,"  said  Charley. 

"Woo!"  said  the  Tanana  chief,  grinning  in 
triumph.    "  What's  the  matter  with  your  Jesus  ?  " 

The  Intlians  at  Forty  IVFile  Post  were  mostly 
encamped  in  tents  or  were  living  in  rude  huts  of 
timber  plastered  with  mud ;  while  the  white 
men  had  built  houses  of  logs,  unsquared,  with 
the  chinks  tilled  with  mud  and  moss  and  the 


TIIK   FORTY  MILE  DKiGISGS. 


WW 


!( 


roof  covered  with  similar  material.  Prices  were 
lii<^li  tiiroughout :  A  lot  of  laml  in  the  middle 
of  the  town,  say  lou  by  150  feet,  was  worth 
^T,o()0  or  $s,(»uu;  sugar  was  worth  twenty-live 
cents  a  pound  and  ordinary  labor  ten  dollars  a 
day.  All  provisions  were  also  very  expensive, 
and  the  supply  was  often  short.  Many  common 
articles,  usually  reckoned  among  what  the  fool- 
ish call  the  necessities  of  life,  couhl  not  be  ob- 
tained by  us.  I  say  foolish,  because  one  can 
learn  from  pioneering  and  exploring,  upon  how 
little  life  can  be  supported  and  health  and 
strength  maintained,  and  how  many  of  the  sup- 
posed necessities  are  really  luxuries. 

The  Alaskan  Eskimo  lives  practically  on  fish 
alone  througiiout  the  year,  without  salt,  without 
bread, — just  lish — and  grows  fat  and  oily  and  of 
pungent  odor.  But  white  men  can  hardly  be- 
come so  simple  in  their  diet  without  some  dan- 
ger of  dying  in  the  course  of  the  experiment, 
like  the  famous  cow  that  was  trained  to  go  with- 
out eating,  but  whose  untimely  deatii  cut  short 
her  career  in  the  first  bloom  of  success. 

The  miners  have  always  been  dependent  for 
supplies   on    steamers    from    San    Francisco   or 


I  hi 


t 

Hi 


I 


! 


'i-'i 

;    i  I 


in     Tiiiioran  riii-:  yvkos  hold  inaaixas. 


• 


Seattle,  which  huve  to  inaUe  a  trip  of  4,o(k»  miU's 
or  more;  and,  in  the  earlv  (hivs,  if  any  accident 
occurred,  there  vas  no  other  source. 

I  liave  heard  of  a  hishop  of  the  Episcopal 
Churcli,  a  missionary  in  tiiis  counti'v,  who  lived 
all  winter  upon  moose  meat,  without  salt;  and 
an  old  miner  told  me  of  working  all  summer  on 
flour  alone.  When  the  fall  came  he  shot  some 
caribou,  and  his  description  of  his  sensations  on 
eating  his  first  venison  steak  were  touching. 
Hardly  a  winter  has  passed  until  very  recently 
when  the  miners  were  not  \nit  on  rations — so 
many  pounds  of  bacon  and  so  much  Hour  to  the 
man, — to  bridge  over  the  time  until  the  steamer 
should  arrive.  The  winter  of  isstJ-Do  is  known 
to  the  old  Yukon  i)ioneer  as  the  ''starvation 
winter,"  for  during  the  })revious  summer  a  suc- 
cession of  accidents  i)revented  the  river  boat 
from  reaching  Forty  Mile  with  provisions.  The 
men  were  finally  starved  out  and  in  October  they 
all  began  attemi)ting  to  make  their  way  down 
the  Ynkon,  towards  St.  Michaels,  over  a  thousand 
miles  away,  where  food  was  known  to  be  stored, 
having  been  landed  at  this  dei)ot  from  ocean 
steamers.     Kearly  a  hundred  men  left  the  post 


THE  FOliTY   Mll.i:  DKiillSGS. 


lI.-> 


ill  siiiiill  boats.  Soiiu!  travel  led  the  wliolo  dis- 
taiJc'O  to  St,  Mic'liat'ls,  otlioi's  stopped  ami 
wintered  l)_v  the  way  at  the  various  miserahle 
tradin<»-  posts,  or  in  the  winter  camps  of  the  In- 
dians themselves,  wiierever  food  could  bo  found. 
It  happened  that  this  year  the  river  did  not 
freeze  up  so  early  as  usual,  wliicii  favored  the 
Hii^ht,  though  the  journey  down  tlio  lower  part 
of  the  river  was  made  in  runnin*^  ice. 

In  connection  with  the  shortness  of  provisions 
and  su|)plies  in  these  early  years,  a  story  is  told 
of  a  worthless  vagal)«)nd  who  used  to  hang- 
around  Forty  Mile  Post,  and  whose  hoaxes,  in- 
vented to  make  money,  put  the  wooden  nutmeg 
and  the  oak  ham  of  Connecticut  to  shame. 
There  was  a  dearth  of  candles  one  year  at  the 
post,  and  in  midwinter,  when,  for  a  while,  the 
sun  hardly  rises  at  all,  that  was  no  trifling  i)riva- 
tion.  Tiie  weather  was  cold,  as  it  always  is  at 
Forty  ]\Iile  in  the  winter  time.  The  trickster 
had  some  candle  molds  in  his  ])ossession,  but  no 
grease ;  so  he  put  the  wicks  into  the  molds, 
which  he  filled  with  water  colored  white  with 
chalk  or  condensed  milk.  The  water  immedi- 
ately froze  solid,  making  a  very  close  imitation 


d 

"ir 


111 


'II 


■   i 

M 
t 

ii 
I 


lit 


11«      TIIROVall   TUK    YIKON  (SOLI)   DlOdlSaS. 


p 


1 


of  ii  niiuilo.  IIo  iiiaiiiifuctiii-(>(l  a  largo  iiuimIu'I' 
and  tlM>n  stai'ttMl  nrotind  the  post  to  peddle  tiu'iii. 
All  l)on;i^lit  oagei'ly  — Indian  s(]ua\vs  to  sew  hy, 
miners,  sliop-Ueepers,  everybody.  One  man 
bought  a  whole  case  and  shoved  them  under  his 
beil ;  when  he  came  to  \m\\  them  out  again  to 
use,  he  found  nothing  but  the  wicks  in  a  jnle,  the 
ice  having  melted  and  the  water  having  evajK)- 
rated  in  the  warm  room.  What  j)unishment  was 
meted  out  to  this  uniijue  swindler  I  do  not 
know,  but  I  could  not  learn  that  he  was  ever 
severely  dealt  with. 

The  evening  of  our  arrival  in  Forty  ^lile  Post 
we  were  attracted  by  observing  a  row  of  miners, 
who  were  lined  up  in  front  of  the  saloon  en- 
gaged in  Avatching  the  door  of  a  large  log  cabin 
opposite,  rather  dilapidated,  with  the  windows 
broken  in  On  being  questioned,  they  said  there 
was  going  to  be  a  dance,  but  when  or  how  they 
did  not  seem  to  know :  all  seemed  to  take  only 
a  languid  looker-on  interest,  speaking  of  the 
affair  lightly  and  Hippantly.  Presently  more 
men,  however,  joined  the  group  and  eyed  the 
cabin  expectantly.  In  spite  of  their  disclaim- 
ers  they  evidently  expected  to  take   part,   but 


1  \ 


THK   FORTY  SULK   DK.dlSdS. 


117 


wljoro    wort!    tlio    liiir    piiiMncrs    lor    the    ii»a/y 
Willi/,  y 

Th(!  evening  wore  on  until  ten  o'clock,  when 
in  the  dusk  u  stolid  Indian  woman,  with  a  hahv 
in  the  blanket  on  her  l)ack,  came  cautiously 
around  the  corner,  and  with  the  peeuHar  lon«^ 
slouchy  step  of  her  kind,  made  for  the  cabin 
door,  looking  neither  to  the  right  nor  to  the  left. 
She  had  no  fan,  nor  yet  an  opera  cloak ;  she  was 
not  even  decollete;  she  wore  hirge  nuKrasins 
on  her  feet — number  twelve,  I  think,  according 
to  the  white  nuin's  system  of  measurement — and 
she  had  a  bright  colored  handkerchief  on  her 
head.  She  was  followed  by  a  dozen  others,  one 
far  behind  the  other,  each  silent  and  uncon- 
cerned, and  each  with  a  baby  U|)on  her  back. 
They  sidled  into  the  h)g  cabin  and  sat  down  on 
the  benches,  where  they  also  de|)osited  their 
babies  in  a  row :  the  little  red  people  lay  there 
very  still,  with  wide  eyes  shut  or  staring,  but 
never  crying — Indian  babies  know  that  is  all 
foolishness  and  doesn't  do  any  good.  The  moth- 
ers sat  awhile  looking  :.t  the  ground  in  some  one 
spot  and  then  slowly  lifted  their  heads  to  look  at 
the   miners  who    had    slouched   into   the  cabin 


Ji'P 

!i 

t,  • 

i\  ' 
t.1 

;l 

II 
fit 


nil: 


'    <    i 


I 

I 

;i 

in 
hi 


i    -ii- 


llrt      TlUiOUaH  THE   YUKON   HOLD  DIGGINGS. 


II 


1 

!  ■  ' 


if 


after  tliem — men  fresh  from  the  diggings,  spoil- 
ing for  excitement  of  any  kind.  Then  a  man 
with  a  dihi})idated  fiddle  sti'uck  up  a  swinging, 
sawing  melody,  and  in  the  intoxication  of  the 
moment  some  of  the  most  reckless  of  the  miners 
grabbed  an  Indian  woman  and  began  furiously 
swinging  her  around  in  a  sort  of  waltz,  while  the 
others  crowded  around  and  looked  on. 

Little  by  little  the  dusk  grew  deeper,  but 
candles  were  scarce  and  could  not  be  afforded. 
The  figures  of  the  dancing  couples  grew  more 
and  more  indistinct  and  their  faces  became  lost 
to  view,  while  the  sawing  of  the  iiddle  grew 
more  and  more  rapid,  and  the  dancing  more  ex- 
cited. There  was  no  noise,  however ;  scarcely  a 
sound  save  the  fiddle  and  the  shuffling  of  the 
feet  over  the  floor  of  rough  hewn  logs ;  for  the 
Indian  women  were  stolid  as  ever,  and  the  min- 
ors could  not  speak  the  language  of  their  part- 
ners. Even  the  lookers-on  said  nothing,  so  that 
these  silent  dancing  figures  in  the  dusk  made  an 
almost  weird  effect. 

One  by  one,  however,  the  women  dropped  out, 
tired,  picked  up  their  babies  and  slouched  off 
home,  and  the  men  slipped  over  to  the  saloon  to 


THE  FORTY  MILE  DIGGISOS. 


119 


liave  a  drink  before  gt)ing  to  their  cabins. 
Surely  this  sqiui"'  dance,  as  tliey  call  it,  was  one 
of  the  most  peculiar  balls  ever  seen.  No  sound 
of  revelry  by  night,  no  lights,  no  flowers,  no  in- 
troductions, no  conversations.  Of  all  the  Muses, 
Terpsichore  the  ninible-fwoted,  alone  was  repre- 
sented, for  surely  the  nymph  who  presides  over 
music  would  have  disowned  the  fiddle. 

All  the  diggings  in  the  Forty  Mile  district 
were  remote  from  the  Post,  and  to  reach  them 
one  had  to  ascend  Forty  Mile  Creek,  a  rapid 
stream,  tor  some  distance.  Pete  left  us  here, 
and  wo  tiiree  concluded  to  go  it  alone.  Inas- 
much as  wc  were  young  and  tender,  we  were 
overwhelmed  with  advice  of  such  various  and 
contradictory  kinds  that  we  were  almost  dis- 
heaitf^ned.  Every  one  agreed  that  it  would  be 
imj)ossible  U)  take  our  boats  up  the  river,  that 
we  shouUl  take  an  "up  river"  boat,  (that  is,  a 
boat  built  long  and  narrow,  with  a  wide  over- 
hang, so  as  to  make  as  little  friction  with  the 
water  as  possible,  and  to  make  upsetting  difli- 
cult) ;  but  when  we  came  to  in(iuire  we  found 
there  was  no  sucli  i)oat  to  be  Ihad.  Wa  were  ad- 
vised to  take  half-a-dozen  experienced  polers,  but 


f 


1! 
I! 


Hi^ 


Ml 


'(  ) 


120      THROUGH   THE   YUKON  GOLD   DIGGINGS. 


i  ' 


\ 


■l\ 


such  polers  could  not  be  found.  Evidently  we 
must  either  wait  the  hirger  })iirt  of  the  summer 
for  our  preparations  a  la  inodi^  or  go  anyhow  ; 
and  this  latter  we  decided  to  do.  We  announced 
our  intention  at  the  table  of  the  man  whose 
hospitality  we  were  enjoying.     He  stared. 

"  You'll  find  Forty  Mile  Creek  a  hard  river  to 
go  up,"  he  said,  slowly.  "  Have  you  had  much 
experience  in  ascending  rivers  ?" 

"  Very  little,"  we  replied. 

"  Are  you  good  polers  ?  "  asked  another. 

"Like  the  young  lady  who  was  asked  whether 
she  could  j)lay  the  piano,"  I  answered,  "  we  don't 
know — we  never  tried.'  Everybody  roared  ; 
they  had  been  wanting  to  laugh  for  some  time, 
and  here  was  their  opportunity.  Later  a  guide 
was  offered  to  us,  but  we  had  got  on  our  dignity 
and  refused  him  ;  then  he  asked  to  be  allowed  to 
accompany  us  as  a  passenger,  taking  his  own 
food,  and  helping  with  the  boat,  and  we  con- 
sented to  this.  He  had  a  claim  on  the  head- 
waters of  Sixty  Mile,  to  which  he  wished  to  go 
back,  but  could  not  make  the  journey  uj)  the 
river  alone.  A  year  afterwards  this  ])enniless 
fellow  was  one  of  the  lucky  men  in  the  Klondike 


THE  FORTY  MILE  DIGGINGS. 


121 


rush  and  came  back  to  civilization  with  a  reputed 
fortune  of  }t>l(MM»()0. 

We  coukl  row  only  a  short  distance  up  the 
creek  from  the  post,  for  after  this  the  current 
became  so  swift  that  we  coukl  nuike  no  head- 
way. We  then  tied  a  long  line  to  the  bow  of 
the  boat,  and  two  of  us,  walking  on  the  shore, 
pulled  the  line,  while  another  stood  in  the  bow 
and  by  constant  shoving  out  into  the  stream, 
succeeded  in  overcoming  the  tendency  for  the 
pull  of  the  line  to  make  the  boat  run  into  the 
shore  or  into  such  shallow  water  that  it  would 
ground.  We  soon  reached  the  canyon,  supposed 
to  be  the  most  difficult  place  in  the  creek  to 
pass ;  here  the  stream  is  very  rapid  and  tumbles 
foaming  over  huge  boulders  which  have  partially 
choked  it.  We  towed  our  boat  up  through  this, 
however,  without  much  difficulty,  and  on  the 
second  night  camped  at  the  boundai'y  line. 

Here  a  gaunt  old  character,  Sam  Patch  by 
name,  had  his  cabin.  He  was  famous  for  his 
patriotism  and  his  vegetables.  His  garden  was 
on  the  steep  side  of  a  south-facing  hill  and  was 
sheltered  from  the  continual  frosts  which  fall  in 
the  sumii.er  nights,   so  that  it  succeeded    well. 


II 


W 


'\\ 


.(^ 


'I  \ 


i'i! 


122      TH ROUGH  THE   YUKON  GOLD   DIGGINGS. 


I 


Foreign  vegetables,  as  well  as  native  i)lants, 
thrive  luxuriantly  in  Alaska  so  long  as  they  can 
be  kept  from  being  frost-bitten :  for  in  the  long 
sunshiny  summer  days  they  grow  twice  as  fast 
and  big  as  they  do  in  more  tem})erate  climates. 
"Sam  Patch's  i)otato  patch"  was  famous  through- 
out the  diggiigs,  and  the  surest  Avay  to  win 
Sam's  heart  was  to  go  and  inspect  and  admire  it. 
Sam  was  always  an  enthusiastic  American,  and 
when  the  Canadian  surveyors  surveyed  the 
meridian  line  which  constituted  the  International 
boundary,  they  ran  it  right  through  his  potato 
patch ;  but  he  stood  by  his  American  flag  and 
refused  to  haul  it  down — quite  unnecessarily, 
because  no  one  asked  him  to  do  so. 

The  next  day  we  reached  the  mouth  of  the 
little  tributary  called  IVloose  Oreek.  From  here 
a  trail  thirty  miles  in  length  leads  over  the  low 
mountains  to  the  headwaters  of  Sixty  Mile 
Creek,  where  several  of  the  richest  gulches  of 
the  Forty  IVlile  district  were  located.  We 
beached  our  boat,  therefore,  put  packs  on  our 
backs  and  starteil.  At  this  time  the  days  were 
hot  and  the  mosquitoes  vicious,  and  nearly  every 
night  was  frosty  ;  so  we  sweat  and  snuirted  all 


THE  FORTY  MILE  DIG(JIN(,S. 


133 


(lay,  uiid  shivered  l)y  night,  for  our  hhinkets 
were  liurdly  thick  enough.  AVo  used  to  remark 
on  rising  in  the  morning  that  Alaska  was  a  de- 
lightful country,  with  temperature  to  suit  every 
taste ;  no  matter  if  one  liked  hot  weather  or 
moderate  or  cold,  if  he  woukl  wait  he  would  get 
it  inside  of  twenty-four  hours. 

We  were  tired  when  we  started  over  the  trail, 
and  the  journey  was  not  an  easy  one,  for  we 
carried  blankets,  food,  cnnieras,  and  other  snuiU 
necessaries.  We  camped  in  a  small  swamp  the 
first  night,  where  the  ground  was  so  wet  that  we 
were  obliged  to  curl  up  on  the  roots  of  trees, 
close  to  the  trunks,  to  keep  out  of  the  water. 
The  second  day  a  forest  fire  blocked  our  journey, 
but  we  made  our  way  through  it,  treading  swiftly 
over  the  burning  ground  and  through  the  thick 
smoKe  :  then  we  emerged  onto  a  bare  rocky  ridge, 
from  which  we  could  look  down,  on  the  right,  over 
the  net-work  of  little  vallevs  which  feed  Forty 
]\Iile  Creek,  and  <m  the  other  side  over  the  tribu- 
taries of  Sixty  Mile  Creek,  clearly  defined  as  if 
(m  a  map.  The  ridge  on  which  we  travelled  was 
cut  up  like  the  teeth  of  a  saw,  so  that  a  large  ))art 
of  our  time  was  si)ent  in  climbing  up  and  down. 


'till 

•  t 

•  <  1 

I! 

M 

If 
111 


!  I  ': 


!l 


•i 


ul 


124      THROUGH  THE   YUKON  GOLD   DIGGINGS. 


On  the  latter  part  of  the  second  day  we  found 
no  wood,  and  at  night  we  could  hardly  prepare 
food  enougli  to  keep  our  stomachs  from  sicken- 
ing. IViy  feet  had  become  raw  at  the  start  from 
hard  boots,  and  every  step  was  a  torture ;  yet  the 
boots  could  not  be  taken  off,  for  the  trail  was 
covered  with  small  sharp  stones,  and  the  packs  on 
our  backs  pressed  heavily  downward.  The  third 
day  we  separated,  each  descending  from  the 
mountain  ridge  into  one  of  the  little  gulches,  in 
which  we  could  see  the  white  tents  or  the  brown 
cabins  of  the  miners,  with  smoke  rising  here  and 
there.  My  wa^^  led  me  down  a  rocky  ridge  and 
then  abruptly  into  the  valley  of  Miller  Creek. 
As  I  sat  down  and  rested,  surveying  the  .'Ittle 
valley  well  dotted  with  shanties,  two  men  came 
climbing  up  the  trail  and  sat  down  to  chat.  They 
were  going  to  the  spot  on  Forty  Mile  Creek 
which  we  had  just  left — there  was  a  keg  of  whisky 
"  cached  "  there  and  they  had  been  selected  a  com- 
mittee of  two  bv  the  miners  to  escort  the  afore- 
said  booze  into  camp.  They  were  alternately 
doleful  at  the  prospect  of  the  sixty  mile  tramp  and 
jubihint  over  the  ])romised  whisky,  for,  as  they  in- 
formed us,  the  camp  had  been  "  dry  for  some  time." 


V. 


K    .^ 


THE  FORTY  MILK  DIGGINGS. 


125 


Descending  into  the  camp  where  the  men  were 
busily  working,  I  stopped  to  watch  them,  (iaunt, 
muscuhir,  sweating,  they  stood  in  their  long  boots 
in  the  wet  gravel  and  shovelled  it  above  their 
heads  into  "  sluice  boxes," — a  series  of  long 
wooden  troughs  in  which  a  continuous  current 
of  water  was  running.  The  small  material  was 
carried  out  of  the  lower  end  of  the  sluices  by  the 
water.  Here  and  there  the  big  stones  choked 
the  current  and  a  man  with  a  long  shovel  was 
continuously  occupied  with  cleaning  the  boxes  of 
such  accumulations.  Everybody  was  working 
intensely.  The  season  is  short  in  Alaska  and  the 
claim-owner  is  generally  a  hustler ;  and  men  who 
are  paid  ten  dollars  a  day  for  shovelling  must 
jump  to  earn  their  mone3\ 

Strangers  were  rare  on  IMiller  Creek  in  those 
days,  and  everybody  stopped  a  minute  to  look  and 
answer  my  greetings  })olitely,  but  there  was  no 
staring,  and  everybody  went  on  with  his  work 
without  asking  any  (piestions.  Men  are  courteous 
in  rough  countries,  where  each  one  must  travel 
on  his  merits  and  light  his  own  battles,  and  wliere 
social  standing  or  previous  condition  of  servitude 
count   for   nothing.     I   wandered   slowly   down 


i!! 


f 


11 


Ij 


r 


:i! 


II 


!     t. 


,.     I  ^ 


1 


;i 


■  t 


t : 


126      THKOUall   THE   YUKON  GOLD  DJGGINa.S. 

from  claim  to  claim.     Tliev  were  all  workiiii 


O' 


one  below  the  other,  for  this  was  the  best  j)art 
of  one  of  the  oldest  and  richest  gulches  of  the 
Forty  Mile  district.  One  man  asked  me  where 
I  was  going  to  sleep,  and  on  my  telling  him 
that  1  had  not  thought  of  it,  re})lied  that  there 
were  some  empty  log  cabins  a  little  distance 
below.  Further  down  a  tall,  dark,  mournful 
man  addressed  me  in  broken  English,  with  a 
Canadian  French  accent,  and  put  the  same  ques- 
tion. 

"  I  work  on  ze  night  shift  to-night,"  he  contin- 
ued, "so  I  do  not  sleep  in  my  bed.  You  like, you 
no  fin'  better,  you  is  very  welcome,  sair,  to  sleep 
in  my  cabine,  in  my  bed." 

I  accepted  gratefully,  for  I  was  very  tired ;  so 
the  Frenchman  conducted  me  to  a  cabin  about 
six  feet  square  and  insisted  upon  cooking  a  little 
supper  for  me.  He  was  working  for  day's  wages, 
he  answered  to  my  rather  blunt  questions,  but 
hoped  that  he  would  earn  enough  this  summer 
and  the  next  winter  to  buy  an  outfit  and  enough 
"grub"  to  go  prospecting  for  himself,  on  the 
Tanana,  which  had  not  been  explored  and  where 
he  believed  there  must  be  gold ;  prospectors  get 


THE  FORTY  MILE  DIGGISaS. 


127 


very  firmly  convinced  of  such  things  witli  no  real 
reason. 

After  supper  he  darkened  the  windows  for  me 
and  went  to  work,  I  sought  the  comfort  of  a 
wooden  bunk,  covering  myself  with  a  dirty  bed- 
quilt.  It  was  very  ancient  and  perhaps  did  not 
smell  sweet,  but  what  did  I  care?  It  was 
Heaven.  The  darkness  was  delicious.  I  had  not 
known  real  darkness  for  so  long  throughout  the 
summer — always  sleeping  out  of  doors  in  the  light 
of  the  Alaskan  night — that  I  had  felt  continually 
strained  and  uncomfortable  for  the  lack  of  it,  and 
this  darkened  cabin  came  to  me  like  the  sweetest 
of  opiates. 

When  I  awoke  the  Frenchman  was  preparing 
breakfast.  I  had  slept  some  ten  hours  without 
moving.  There  was  only  one  tin  plate,  one  cup, 
and  one  knife  and  fork,  and  he  insisted  upon  my 
eating  with  them,  while  he  stood  by  and  gravely 
superintended,  urging  more  slapjacks  upon  me. 
I  suddenlv  felt  ashamed  that  I  had  told  him 
neither  my  name  nor  business,  for  although  I  had 
questioned  him  freely,  he  had  not  manifested  the 
slightest  curiosity.  So  without  being  asked  I 
volunteered  some  information  about  myself.     He 


!|' 


'  'I 
h(>!| 
I  I 


r 


II 


'  t: 


;i 


liH      THROUQH  THE   YUKON  GOLD  DliidlSaS. 


listened  attentively  and  politely,  but  without  any 
great  interest.  It  was  quite  apparent  that  the 
most  important  thing  to  hhu  was  that  1  was  a 
stranger.  Soon  after  breakfast  I  thanked  him 
warmly  and  went  away — I  knew  enough  of 
miners  not  to  insult  him  by  offering  him  money 
for  his  hospitality. 

The  night  shift  of  shovellers  had  given  way  to 
the  day  shift,  and  work  was  going  on  {is  fiercely 
as  ever.  The  bottoms  of  all  these  gulches  are 
covered  with  roughly  stratified  shingle,  most  of 
which  slides  down  from  the  steep  hillsides  of  the 
creek.  Among  the  rocks  on  the  hillsides  are 
many  quartz  veins,  which  carry  "  iron  pyrite  "  or 
"  fool's  gold  "  ;  these  often  contain  small  specks 
of  real  gold.  So  when  all  the  rubble  gets  to- 
gether and  is  broken  up  in  the  bottom  of  the 
stream,  where  the  water  flows  through  it,  the 
difl'erent  materials  in  the  rocks  begin  to  separate 
one  from  another,  more  or  less,  according  to  the 
difference  in  their  weights  and  the  fineness  of 
the  fragments  into  which  they  are  broken.  Kow 
gold  is  the  heaviest  of  metals,  and  the  result  is, 
that  through  all  this  jostling  and  crowding  it 
gradually  works  itself  down  to  the  bottom  of  the 


rilE   FORTY  MILE   DHidlSHS. 


l'J!» 


licapjSiiul  generally  quite  to  the  solid  rock  Welow. 
This  has  been  found  to  bo  the  case  nearly  everv- 
wliei'o.  In  process  of  time  the  gravel  accumula- 
tions become  quite  thick;  in  Miller  Creek,  for 
oxami)le,  they  varied  from  three  or  four  feet  at 
the  head  of  the  valley,  where  1  was,  to  lifty  or 
sixty  at  the  mouth.  13ut  all  the  upper  gravels 
are  barren  and  valueless.  "Where  the  gravels  are 
not  deep,  they  are  simply  shovelled  off  and  out  of 
the  way,  till  the  lower  part,  where  the  gold  lies, 
is  laid  bare ;  this  work  generally  takes  a  year, 
during  which  time  there  is  no  return  for  the 
labor. 

Once  the  pay  gravel — as  it  is  called — is 
reached,  a  long  wooden  trough  called  a  "  sluice," 
is  constructed,  the  current  turned  through  it,  and 
the  gravel  shovelled  in.  This  work  can  only  be 
carried  on  in  the  summer-time,  when  the  water 
is  not  frozen,  so  that  the  Avarm  months  are  the 
time  for  hustling,  day  and  night  shifts  being  em- 
ployed, Avith  as  many  men  on  each  as  can  work 
conveniently  together.  In  case  the  barren  over- 
lying gravel  is  very  deep,  the  minei's  wait  until 
it  is  frozen  and  then  sink  shafts  to  the  |)ay  dirt, 
which  they  take  out  by  running  tunnels  and  ex- 


iit 


\ 


ill  I 


F 


'  f 


1 1      i< 
1        H 


r 


i:«i     rnnordii  riii:  vckox  aoi.i)  niaaixas. 

ciivatiii^'  cliaiiilK'rs  <»i'  '^stupes"  aloii^-  tlu;  l)ed 
nu'k.  Ill  this  woi-k  tlicv  <l<)  not  uso  blastinj,^,  l)ut 
build  u  sm.ill  liro  wlierovoi'  tliov  wish  to  pcno- 
trato,  and  as  soon  as  tlie  gi'avel  tliaws  tiioy 
siiovol  it  up  and  convey  it  (JUt,  nicanwiiilo  |)ushin«^ 
tiic  lire  alioad  so  tliat  more  inav  thaw  oul  ..i 
this  way  they  accumulate  the  pay  dii't  in  a  heap 
on  the  surface,  and  as  soon  as  warm  weather 
comes  they  shovel  it  into  the  sluices  as  before. 

At  the  time  of  my  visit,  the  c<jnstructi(m  of 
the  sluices  was  a  work  of  considerable  hibor,  for 
as  there  was  no  saw-mill  in  the  countrv,  the 
boards  from  which  they  were  made  had  to  bo 
sawed  by  liand  out  of  felled  trees. 

In  tiie  last  few  of  the  trough-sections  or  sluice- 
boxes,  slats  ai'c  placed,  sometimes  transverse, 
sometimes  lengthwise,  sometimes  oblique,  some- 
times crossed,  forming  a  grating — all  patterns 
have  nearly  the  same  effect,  nam oly,  to  catch  the 
gold  and  the  other  heavy  Tninera's  by  means 
of  vortexes  which  are  createc^  Thus  behind 
these  slats  or  "riffles"  the  gold  lodges,  while 
the  lightei'  and  barren  gi-avel  is  swe])t  by  the 
current  of  water  out  of  the  trough,  and  the 
heavy  stones  are  thrust  out  by  the  shovel  of  the 


l\ 


•A 

I 

'A 


7. 


y, 

■A 


:ir 


t  ! 


r1 


i 

L 

i 

i 
1 

} 

■  i 

132      THROUGH  THE   YUKON  GOLD   DIGGINGS 

miner.  Nearly  the  sjinie  process  as  that  which 
in  nature  concentrates  gohl  at  the  bottom  of  the 
gravels  and  on  top  of  the  bed-rock  is  adopted  by 
man  to  cleanse  the  gold  perfectly  from  the  at- 
tendant valueless  minerals. 

Everybody  was  hospitable  along  the  gulch.  I 
had  live  different  invitations  to  dinner, — hearty 
ones,  too — and  some  were  loath  to  be  put  off 
with  the  plea  of  previous  engagement.  They 
were  all  eager  for  news  from  the  outside  world, 
from  Avhich  they  had  not  heard  since  the  fall  be- 
fore ;  keenly  interested  in  political  developments, 
at  home  and  abroad.  They  were  intelligent  and 
better  informed  than  the  ordinary  man,  for  in 
the  long  winter  months  there  is  little  to  do  but 
to  sleep  and  read.  They  develop  also  a  surpris- 
ing taste  for  solid  literature  ;  nearly  everywhere 
Shakespeare  seer.ied  to  be  the  favorite  author,  all 
nationalities  and  degrees  of  education  uniting  in 
the  general  liking.  A  gulch  that  had  a  full  set 
of  Shakes]ieare  considered  itself  in  for  a  rather 
cozy  winter;  and  there  were  regular  Shakes- 
peare clubs,  where  each  miner  took  a  certain 
character  to  read.  Books  of  science,  and  espe- 
cially [)liilosophy,  were  also  widely  sought.     It 


THE  FORTY  MILE  DIGGINGS. 


133 


has  been  my  theory  that  in  conditions  like  tliis, 
Avhere  there  are  not  the  thousand  and  one  stimuli 
to  fritter  away  the  intellectual  energy,  the  men- 
tal (qualities  become  stronger  and  keener  and  the 
little  that  is  done  is  done  with  surprising  vigor 
and  clearness. 

Down  the  creek  I  found  a  Swede,  working 
over  the  gravels  on  a  claim  that  had  already 
been  washed  once,  lie  had  turned  off  the  water 
from  the  sluice-boxes  and  was  scraping  up  the 
residue  from  among  the  rilHes.  Mostly  black 
heavy  magnetic  iron  particles  with  many  spark- 
ling yellow  grains  of  gold,  green  hor  blendes 
and  ruby-colored  garnets.  IIq  put  all  this  into  a 
gold  pan,  (a  large  shallow  steel  pan  such  as  used 
in  the  first  stages  of  prospecting^  and  proceeded 
to  "pan  out"  the  gold  yet  a  little  more,  lie 
immersed  the  vessel  just  below  the  surface  of  a 
])0(>1  of  water,  and  by  skiHfui  twirlings  caused  the 
contents  to  be  agitated,  and  while  the  heavier 
particles  sank  quickly  to  the  bottom,  ho  contin- 
uously worked  off  the  lighter  ones,  allowing 
them  to  flow  out  over  the  e(\g{i  of  the  pan.  Yet 
he  was  very  careful  that  no  bit  of  gold  should 
escape,  and  when  he  had  carried   this  process  as 


4   1 
'      I 


J-':lt 


i 


i:i4    THRoraif  the  yukon  gold  diggings. 

far  as  lie  could,  he  invited  me  into  his  cabin  to 
see  him  continue  the  separation. 

Here  he  si)read  the  "  dust "  on  the  t£.,ble  and 
began  blowing  it  with  a  small  hand-bellows. 
The  garnets,  the  hornblendes  and  the  fragments 
of  quartz,  being  lighter  than  the  rest,  soon  rolled 
out  to  one  side,  leaving  only  the  gold  and  the 
magnetic  iron.  Then  with  a  hand  magnet  he 
drew  the  iron  out  from  the  gold,  leaving  the 
noble  yellow  metal  nearly  pure,  in  flakes  and 
irregular  gi'ains.  As  the  mtUerial  he  had  sep- 
arated still  contained  some  gold,  he  put  this 
aside  to  be  treated  with  quicksilver.  The  quick- 
silver is  poured  into  the  dust,  where  it  forms  an 
amalgam  with  the  gold  :  it  is  then  strained  off", 
and  the  anuilgam  is  distilled — the  quicksilver  is 
va})orized,  leaving  the  gold  behind. 

This  man  had  his  wife  with  him,  a  tired, 
lonely  looking  woman.  I  asked  her  if  there 
were  no  more  women  on  the  creek.  She  said 
no;  there  Avas  another  woman  over  on  Glacier 
Creek,  and  she  wanted  so  much  to  see  her  some- 
times, but  she  was  not  a  good  wonuin,  so  she 
could  not  go.  She  was  lonely,  she  said  ;  she  had 
been  here  three  years  and  had  not  seen  a  woman. 


I 


■THE  yoitrv  MILE  maiaxos.  ,:„ 

From  some  of  tl,o  ,„in«,..s  I  ol,t„i,u..l  „  ,,„ir 
of  Indian   moccasins,  wl.id,  I  ,,,„|,|,,,|  „,,||  ,,,.j|, 
.ay  an,l  cloth  to  n.ake  tl,..,,  easy  f,„.  ,„v  cl.alin,, 
feet;  then  I  sluno-  my  o>vn  I.eavy  booU  on  top 
of  my  pack  and  tl,e  next  morning  l„.,le  the  gulch 
good-bye,   feeling   sfengthene.l    f,,,n,    n.y  rest 
As  I  chmbed  ont  of  the  gulch  I  met  the  minei-s 
who  had  gone   as   a  committee   to  escort   the 
wh.sky,   arriving   with   it,   white  and   speckled 
with   fatigue,  speaking  huskily,  (hut   not  from 
'IrinK.ng),  yet  fiuinphaut.     The  dav   was  cool 
an,l  when  one  is  alone  one  is  apt  to  travel  hard  • 
but  the  unwonted  lightness  of  my  feet  an.l  thj 
reedom  from  pain  encouragcl  me,  so  I  sot  my 
Indian  moccasins  into  a  regular  Indian  trot,  a„,l 
by  noon  had  covercl  the  entire  fifteen  mil,.s  that 
constituted   the  iirst  half  of  the  jouniev.     This 
brought  nie  to  a  locality  .lignifled  hy  the  name 
of  the  "  Half-Way   Uouse,"  from  a  tent-(l,  of 

stnped  drilling  left  by  some  one,  in  which  the 
■nmers  were  accustome,!  to  pass  the  night  in 
tbeir  journeys  over  the  trail.  Here  I  fonnil 
Schrader,  who  lia.l  arrive,l  late  tl,,.  night  before 
and  was  preparing  to  make  a  start.  We  Ihdite,! 
a  hre  and  made  some  tea,  which  with  corned 


I 


ill 


llll 


ill 


'136      TH ROUGH  THE   YUKON  GOLD   DIGGINGS. 

beef  and  crackers,  made  up  our  lunch.  AVhile 
we  were  eating,  our  old  companion  Pete,  with 
two  more  miners,  came  in  from  the  opposite 
direction  to  that  from  which  we  had  come ; 
he  was  on  his  way  to  visit  his  old  claim  on 
Miller  Creek.  Afterwards  we  got  away,  and 
kept  up  a  stead  'ian  trot  till  we  reached 

our  camp  on  Fort}  iile  Creek  at  about  six 
o'clock. 

"VVe  found  Goodrich  already  arrived  and 
wrestling  with  the  cooking,  with  which  he  was 
having  tremendously  hard  luck.  This  travelling 
thirty  miles  in  one  day,  carrying  an  average  of 
thirty-five  pounds,  I  considered  something  of  an 
achievement ;  but  the  tiredness  which  came  the 
next  day  showed  that  the  energy  meant  for  a 
long  time  had  been  drawn  upon. 

For  four  days  after  that  we  worked  our  way 
up  Forty  Mile  Creek,  making  on  an  average 
seven  or  eight  miles  a  day.  Mosquitoes  were 
abundant,  and  the  weatlier  showery.  We  used 
the  same  method  of  pulling  and  poling  as  before, 
— a  laborious  process  and  one  calculated  to  ruin 
the  most  angelic  disposition.  The  river  was 
very  low  and   consequently  full  of  rapids  and 


THE  FORTY  3IJLE  DIGGINGS. 


137 


"  rifHes,"  as  the  miners  call  the  shallow  places 
over  which  the  water  splashes.  On  many  of 
these  rittles  our  boat  stuck  fast,  and  we  dragg-ecl 
it  over  the  rocks  by  sheer  force,  wading  out  and 
grasping  it  by  the  gunwale.    Again,  where  there 


"TRAcKiXd"  A  Boat  Upstream. 


were  many  lai'ge  boulders  j)iled  together  in  deep 
water,  the  l)oat  would  stick  upon  one,  and  we 
would  be  obliged  to  wade  out  again  and  pilot  it 
through  by  hand,  now  standing  diy  upon  a  high 
boulder,  and  now  floundering  waist  deep  in  the 


l:W      THROUGH  THE    YUKON  GOLD   DWGING8. 


I    ? 

.    I 

1 


;  :? 


cokl  water  at  some  awkward  step — iuayl)e  losing 
temper  and  scolding  our  innocent  companions 
lor  having  slioved  the  boat  too  violently. 

We  generally  worked  till  late,  and  began 
cooking  our  supper  in  the  dusk — which  was  now 
beginning  to  come — over  a  camp-fire  whose  glare 
dazzled  us  so  that  when  we  tossed  our  flapjack 
into  the  air,  preparatory  to  browning  its  raw 
upper  side,  we  often  lost  sight  of  it  in  the  gloom, 
and  it  sprawled  upon  the  Are,  or  fell  ignomin- 
iously  over  the  edge  of  the  frying-pan.  Those 
were  awful  moments  ;  no  one  dared  to  laugh  at 
the  cook  then.  AVe  took  turns  at  cooking,  and 
patience  ^vns  the  watchword.  The  cook  needed 
it  and  much  more  so,  those  on  whom  he  prac- 
ticed. ( )ne  of  our  number  produced  a  series  of 
slapjacks  once  which  rivalled  my  famous  Chilkoot 
biscuit.  They  were  leaden,  flabby,  wretched. 
We  ate  one  apiece,  and  ate  nothing  else  for  a 
week,  for,  as  the  woodsmen  say,  it  "  stuck  to  our 
ribs"  wonderfully.  < 

"  How  nmch  baking  powder  did  you  put  in 
with  the  flour  ?  "  we  asked  the  cook. 

"  How  should  I  know  ?  "  he  answered,  indig- 
nantly.    "  AVhat  was  right,  of  course." 


y 


THE  FORTY  MILE  DlGaiNGS. 


139 


"Did  you  ineiisure  it?"  We  persisted,  for 
ilie  slapjaclc  was  irritating  us  inside. 

"Anybody,"  replied  the  cook,  with  crushinir 
dignity,  "  who  knows  anything,  knows  how  niucli 
baking  powder  to  put  in  with  flour  witliout 
measuring  it.  I  just  used  common  sense."  So 
we  concluded  that  he  had  put  in  too  much  com- 
mon sense  and  not  enough  baking  powder. 

Just  above  where  the  river  divides  into  two 
nearly  equal  forks,  the  water  grew  so  shallow 
that  we  could  not  drag  our  boat  further,  so  we 
hauled  it  up  and  filled  it  with  green  boughs 
to  prevent  it  from  drying  and  cracking  in  the 
sun  ;  then  we  built  a  "  cache." 

It  may  be  best  to  explain  the  word  "  cache," 
so  freely  used  in  Alaska.  The  term  came  from 
the  French  Canadian  voyageurs  or  trappers  ;  it 
is  pronounced  "cash"  and  comes  from  the 
French  cache)',  to  hide.  So  a  cache  is  something 
hidden,  and  was  a])plied  by  these  woodsmen  to 
hidden  supplies  and  other  articles  of  value,  which 
could  not  l)e  carried  about,  being  secreted  until 
the  owners  shouUl  come  that  way  again.  In 
Alaska,  when  anything  was  thus  left,  a  high 
platform  of  poles   was   built,  supported  by  the 


m 


I  ' : '       t  ! 


140      THROmni    THE    YUKON  LiULl)   DlUdlMlS. 

trunks  of  slender  trees,  and  the  g(x)ds  were  left  on 
tiiis  j)latforni,  covered  in  some  wiiv  against  the 
ravages  of  wild  animals.  To  this  sti'uctuie  the 
name  "cache  "came  to  be  a})plied  ;  and  later 
was    extended   to   the  storehouses   wherein  the 


11  iP 


.1 


A  " Cache." 

natives  kept  their  winter  supplies  of  fish  and 
smoked  meat,  for  these  houses  have  a  somewhat 
similar  structure,  being  built  on  to]i  of  upright 
poles  like  the  old  Swiss  lake-dwellings. 

The  next   morning  we  shouldered  our  pack- 


THE  FORTV  MILE  DKKilSas. 


141 


sacks,  containing-  „i,r  hhuiUets,  a  little  food,  and 
other  necessities,  and  were  again  on  the  tranii), 
tliis   time  having  no  ti-ail,  however,   but  being 
obliged  to  keep  on  the  side  of  the  stream.     Here, 
as  below,  the  river  flowed  in  cne  nearly  continu- 
ous canyon,   but  on  one  side  or  the  other  Hats 
had  been  built  out  on  the  sitle  where  the  current 
was   slackest,   while   on   the   opi)osite  side   was 
deep  water  quite  up  to  the  bold  cliffs ;  and  since 
the  current  sweeps  from  side  to  side,  one  encoun- 
ters levels  and  gravel  fiats,  and  high  rocks,  on 
the  same  side.     Many  of   the  cliffs  we  scaled, 
crawling  gingerly  along  the  almost  i)erpendicular 
side   of  the  rock.     The  constant  temptation  in 
such  climbing  is  to  go  higher,  where  it  always 
looks  easier,  but  when  one  gets  up  it  seems  im- 
possible to  return.     However,  we  had  no  acci- 
dents,   which,   considering    how    awkward     .ur 
packs  made  us,  was  lucky.     At  other  times  we 
waded  the  stream  to  avoid  the  cliffs. 

At  night  we  reached  the  moutli  of  Franklin 
(lulch,  Avhere  active  mining  had  b(;en  going  on 
for  some  time.  The  miners  vrere  almost  out  of 
food,  the  boat  which  ordinarily  brought  provi- 
sions from  Forty  ]\Iile  Post  having  been  unable 


m 


p 
I 


r      : 


i\'2    Tiriiouair  the  yukon  gold  diggings. 

to  get  u|),  on  account  of  tlio  low  wutei*.  Yet 
they  gave*  us  freely  what  they  could.  We 
took  possession  of  an  empty  log  cabin,  lighted  a 
lire  and  toasted  some  trout  which  they  gave  us, 
and  this  with  crackers  and  bacon  made  our 
meal ;  then  we  discovered  some  bunks  with 
straw  in  them,  which  we  agreed  were  gilt-edged, 
and  proceeded  to  make  use  of  them  without  de- 
lay. Only  a  few  of  the  total  number  of  miners 
vere  here,  the  rest  having  gone  over  the  moun- 
tain to  Chicken  Creek,  where  the  latest  find  of 
gold  was  re})orted.  The  men  had  not  heard 
from  "  the  outside  "  for  some  time.  Even  Forty 
Mile  Post  was  a  metropolis  for  them  and  they 
were  glad  to  hear  from  it.  They  had  few 
books  and  only  a  couple  of  news})apers  three  years 
old. 

"Doesn't  it  get  very  dull  here  ?"  we  asked  of 
an  old  stager ;  "  what  do  you  do  for  amuse- 
ment ?  " 

"Do  I"  he  echoed  with  grave  humor,  "Do! 
why,  God  bless  you,  we  'ave  very  genteel  amuse- 
ments. As  for  readin'  an'  litrachure  an'  all  that, 
wy,  dammit,  wen  the  fust  grub  comes  in  the 
spring,  we  'ave  a  meetin'  an'  we  call  all  the  boys 


THE  FOItrV  MILE  DUitlLMiS. 


143 


iiiniiun  an'  then  some 


kiii'-pow- 


together  an'  we  app'int  a  ch 

one  reads  from  the  directions  on  tiie  bal 

der  boxes." 

I  set  out  alone  for  Cliicken  Creek  the  next 
morning,  following  a  line  of  blazed  trees  up  over 
the  mountain  from  Franklin  Creek.  I  had  been 
told  that  once  up  on  the  divide  one  could  look  right 
down  into  Chicken  Creek,  and  I  have  no  doubt 


that  this  is  true,  for 


the 


I  attaining  the  top  „.  „„^ 
hill  a  stretch  of  country  twenty  miles  across  was 
spread  out  before  me  as  on  a  map,  while  directly 
below  was  a  considerable  branch  of  Forty  Mile 
Creek,     divided     into     many    closely    adjacent 
gulches.     One  of  these  nmst  be  Chicken  Creek 
but  which  V    There  were  no  tents  and  no  smoke 
visible,  nmch   as  the  eye  might  strain  through 
the  field-glasses.     Just  here  the  trail  gave  out,  the 
blazer  having  evidently  grown  tired  of  bhiv.ing. 
Thinking  to  obtain  a  better  view  into  the  valley, 
I  set  out  along  the  hill  which  curved  around  it,' 
tramping  patiently  along  until  nearly  niglit  over 
the   sharp   ridges,  but  without  ever  ser i-ir.  any 
signs  of  life  in  the  great  desolate  country  below 
me.     When  the  dark  shadows  were  striking  the 
valleys,  I  caught  sight  of  what  appeared  to^be  ^ 


I- 


k 


\       :'■' 


Ml    riiuovait  rut:  yukon  gold  Diaaisus. 

faint  smoke  in  the  heart  of  a  l)hick  timbered 
gulch,  and  1  made  straightway  down  the  moun- 
tain-side for  it,  hurrying  for  fear  the  lire  should 
be  extinguished  before  X  could  get  close  enough 
to  it  to  find  the  place.  I  hud  no  doubt  that  this 
came  from  the  log  cabin  of  some  pros})ector,  who 
would  be  only  too  glad  to  welcome  a  weaiy 
stranger  with  a  warm  sup})er  and  a  blanket  on 
the  floor. 

On  getting  down,  away  from  the  bare  rocks  on 
the  mountain  ridge,  I  found  deep  moss,  tiresome 
to  my  wearied  limbs,  and  further  down  great 
areas  of  "  niggerheads  " — the  terror  of  travellers 
in  the  northern  swamps.  These  niggerheads 
are  tufts  of  vegetation  which  grow  u})wards  by 
successive  accumulations  till  they  are  knee  high 
or  even  more.  They  are  scattered  thickly  about, 
but  each  tuft  is  separated  completely  from  all  the 
rest,  leaving  hardly  space  to  step  between  ;  if  one 
attempts  to  walk  on  top  of  them  he  will  slip  off, 
so  there  is  nothing  to  do  but  to  walk  on  the 
ground,  lifting  the  legs  over  the  obstacles  with 
great  exertion.  The  tops  of  the  tufts  are  covered 
with  long  grass,  which  droops  dow^n  on  all  sides, 
whence  the  name  niggerheads, — tetes  de  femme 


TIIK  FORTY  MILE  DKldlSGS.  U^ 

or  women's  lieads  is  the  name  given  tliem  by  the 
Frencii  Canadian  voyageurs. 

Still  lower  the  brush  and  vines  became  so  tiiick 
that  it  was  almost  impossible  to  force  the  way 
tiirough  in  places.     At  last  I  emerged  upon  a 
grey  lifeless   area   which  seemed  to  have   been 
burned  over.     There  were  no  trees  or  plants,  but 
the  bare  blackened  sticks  of  what  had  once  been 
a  young  g.-owth  of  spruce  still  stood  upright, 
though  some  trunks  had  fallen  and  lay  piled,  ob- 
stacles to  travelling.    The  whole  looked  ])eculi'arly 
forlorn.     A  little   further   I   came   to  the  spot 
where  I  had  seen  the  smoke.     There  was  nothing 
but  a  stagnant  pool  covered  so  deep  with  green 
scum  that  one  caught  only  an  occasional  glimpse 
of  the  black  water  beneath,  and  from  this,  unsav- 
ory mists  were  rising  in  the  chill  of  the  evening 
air.     I  had  mistaken  these  vapors  for  smoke  from 
my  post  miles  up  the  mountain.     ]\[v  dream  of  a 
log  cabin   and  a  blanket  went   up  likewise  in 
smoke. 

It  was  now  eleven  o'clock  at  night,  and  twi- 
light ;  I  had  walked  at  least  twenty  miles  through 
a  rough  country  and  could  go  no  further.  So  I 
broke  off  the  smaller  dried  trees  and  sticks  and 


% 


% 


i 


-' 


fe 


no      TJIROUail   THE    YUKON  GOLD   DIGGINGS. 


, ,      I. 


li 

|i  ! 


ii 


liglited  a  firo,  then  I  ate  some  crackers  and  bacon 
that  I  had  with  nie,  but  I  did  not  dare  to  drink 
the  water  of  tiie  stagnant  })ool,  Avhich  was  all 
there  Avas  to  be  had.  Tlie  night  grew  frosty,  and 
I  had  no  blankets;  but  1  lay  down  close  to  the 
tire  and  caught  lifteen-niinute  naps.  Once  1 
woke  wi^h  the  smell  of  bui-ning  cloth  in  my  nos- 
trils :  in  my  sleep  1  had  etlged  too  close  to  the 
grateful  warmth,  an*^  my  coat  and  the  notebook 
in  my  pocket,  containing  all  my  season's  notes, 
had  caught  tire,  1  rolled  over  on  them  and  crushed 
out  the  tire  with  my  fingers,  and  after  chat  I 
shivered  away  a  little  further  from  the  tire.  At 
about  three  o'clock  it  grew  light  enough  to  see 
the  surrounding  country,  and  I  started  out  again 
for  the  first  ])oint  I  had  reached  on  the  ridge  the 
morning  before,  thinking  to  get  back  to  Franklin 
gulch,  for  I  was  thoroughly  exhausted.  On  rench- 
ing  the  ridge,  however,  I  met  a  miner  coming 
over  the  trail ;  he  agreed  to  pilot  me  to  the  new 
prospe-t'i,  so  I  turned  back  again. 

There  were  fifteen  or  twenty  men  in  the  gulch 
which  we  finally  reached,  all  living  in  tents  in  a 
very  primitive  way,  and  all  very  short  of  provi- 
sions, yet,  hospitable  to  the  last  mc  I'sel,  they  freely 


Iti 


THE  FORTY  NILK  DlddlNGS. 


147 


offered  the  best  they  liad.     They  were  i.oor,  t<K) ; 
everybody  does  Jiot  get  rieh  in  the  ooUl  digghigs, 
even  in   Alaska.     In  fact,  previous  to  tiie  Kh^n- 
dike  discovery,   tlie   largest  net  sum   oi"  inoney 
taken  out  by  any  one  man  was  about  )s;{0,(mmi, 
while  hundreds  could  not  i)ay  for  thcr  i)rovisions 
or  get  enough  to  buy  a  ticket  out  of  the  country. 
The  Klondike,  too,  has   been   badly  lied  about. 
Kot  one  man  in  twenty  who  goes  there  makes 
more  than  a  bare  living,  and  many  have  to  "hus- 
tle" for  that  harder  than  they  would  at  home. 
So  the  hospitality  of  the  miners,  such  as  I  found 
it  nearly  every  where*  on  the  Yukon,  is  not  a  mere 
act  of  courtesy  which  costs  nothing,  but  the  i-en- 
nine  unselfishness  which  cheerfully  divides   the 
hist  ci'ust  with  a  i)assini'-  stran<>er 

Having  been  strengthened  by  two  square 
meals,  simple  but  sulticient,  I  started  back  for 
Franklin  (uik-h  the  same  night.  It  began  to  rain 
in  torrents  on  the  way,  and  this,  as  usual,  drove 
out  the  mosquitoes  and  made  them  unusually  sav- 
age. They  attacked  me  in  sucii  numbers  that  in 
spite  of  my  gloves  and  veil  ,1  was  nearly  fran- 
tic. The  best  relief  was  to  stride  alon<>'  at  a  oood 
round  })ace,  for  this  kept  most  of  the  pests  at  my 


i  : 


Hi 


I,     !J 


4i 

'1l 


I 

\l 


1^ 


148      THROUGH  THE   YUKON  GOLD  DIGGINGS. 


back,  und  gave  me  a  vent  for  my  wrought-up 
nerves ;  and  at  the  same  time  I  had  the  satisfac- 
tion of  knowing  I  was  "getting  there."  The 
thong  of  my  moccasin  became  undone,  but  I  did 
n«jt  dare  to  stop  to  tie  it,  but  kept  plunging  ah)ng, 
shuttling  it  with  me.  I  reached  our  cabin  at  the 
mouth  of  Franklin  Gulch,  and  the  sight  of  the 
bunk  with  straw  in  it,  and  the  familiar  grey 
blanket,  was  sweet  to  me. 

Next  day  we  bade  the  miners  at  the  creek's 
mouth  good-bye,  with  promises  to  hurry  up  the 
provision-boat  if  possible,  and  made  our  way  to 
where  Ave  had  left  our  boat  and  cache.  The 
next  morning  we  launched  the  Skookum  again, 
and  began  our  journey  back.  Going  down  was 
quicker  work  than  coming  up,  not  so  laborious, 
and  far  more  exciting.  Owing  to  the  lowness  of 
the  water,  the  stream  was  one  succession  of  small 
rapids,  which  were  full  of  boulders;  and  to  steer 
the  boat,  careering  like  a  race  horse,  among 
these,  was  a  pretty  piece  of  woi'k.  One  pulled 
the  oars  to  give  headway,  another  steered,  and 
the  third  stood  in  the  bow,  polo  in  hand, 
to  fend  us  otf  from  such  I'ocks  as  we  were  in 
danger  of   striking.     We   soon   found  that  the 


"'' 


V 


THE  FORTY  MILE  DIGGINGS. 


149 


safest  part  of  such  a  rapid  is  Avliere  the  waves 
are  roughest,  f«>r  here  the  water,  rebounding 
from  the  shallow  shore  on  either  side,  meets  in  a 
narr<nv  channel,  where  it  tosses  and  foams,  yet 
here  is  the  only  place  where  there  is  no  danger 
of  striking. 

The  second  day  out  we  ran  twenty-five  or 
thirty  of  these  rapids.  In  running  through  one 
we  pulled  aside  to  avoid  a  large  boulder  sticking 
up  in  midstream,  and  then  saw  in  front  of  us 
ancjther  b<ndder  just  at  the  surface,  which  we 
had  not  before  noticed.  It  was  too  late,  how- 
ever, and  the  boat  stuck  fast  in  a  second,  and 
began  to  turn  over  from  the  force  of  the  water 
behind.  With  one  Hccord  we  all  leaped  out  of 
the  boat,  expecting  to  fin.  foothold  somewhere 
among  the  boulders,  and  hold  the  boat  or  shove 
her  off  so  that  she  should  not  capsize ;  but  none 
of  us  touched  bottom,  though  we  sank  to  our 
necks,  still  grasping  the  gunwale  of  the  boat. 
Our  being  out,  however,  made  the  boat  so  much 
lighter  that  she  immediately  slipped  over  the 
rock  and  weiit  gloriously  down  the  rapid,  broad- 
side, we  hanging  on.  As  soon  as  we  could  we 
clambered  in,  each  grasi)ed  a  paddle  or  oars  or 


ID 


I 


mmmn 


t  .1 


:    t 


s  • 


150      THROUGH  THE   YUKON  GOLD  DIGGINGS. 

pole,  and  by  great  good  luck  we  had  no  further 
accident. 

Some  distance  further  down  Ave  again  sighted 
white  water  ahead,  where  the  stream  ran  hard 
against  a  perpendicular  clilf.  Some  miners  were 
"rocking"  gravel  for  gold  in  the  bars  just 
above;  and  we  yelled  to  them  to  know  if  we 
could  run  the  rapids. 

"  Yes,"  came  the  answer,  "  if  you're  a  d d 

good  man ! " 

"  All  right — thanks  !  "  we  cried,  and  sailed 
serenely  through.  This  was  known  by  the 
cheerful  name  of  Dead  Man's  Riffle.  Owing  to 
the  strong  wind  blowing,  the  mosquitoes  were 
not  very  annoying  these  few  days ;  the  sun  was 
warm  and  bright,  and  the  hillsides  were  covered 
thickly  with  a  carmine  flower  which  gave  them 
a  general  brilliant  appearance.  These  things, 
with  the  exhilaration  of  running  rapids,  made  a 
sort  of  vacation — an  outing,  a  picnic,  as  it  were — 
in  contrast  to  our  previous  hard  work.  AVhen 
we  got  to  the  Miller  Creek  trail  we  took  on  a 
couple  of  miners  who  wanted  to  get  out  of  the 
country,  but  had  no  boat  in  which  to  go  down 
to  Forty  Mile  Post.     They  had  worked  for  some 


^l 


i 


I 


THE  FORTY  MILE  imuUSilH.  151 

tiino  and  luul  barely  succeeded  in  nuiking  enoucli 
to  buy  food,  and  noNv,  a  little  homesick  and  dis- 
couraged, they  had  made  up  their  minds  to  try 
to  get  out  and  back  to  "(iod's  countrv  "  as  they 
called  it-Colorado.  With  their  help\ve  let  our 
boat  dou-n  through  the  "  Canon  "  safely,  and 
the  next  day,-the  2i)th  of  July,-arri;ed  at 
Forty  Mile  Post. 

At  the  Post  we  found  that  plenty  was  reign- 
ing, for  the  first  steamboat  had  an-ived,  bringhi.r 
a  lot  of  sorely-needed  provisions.     The  trader  in 
charge  gave  us  a  fine  lunch  of  eggs,  moosenieat, 
canned  asparagus,  and  other  delicacies,  and  then 
we  took  possession  of  a  deserted  log  cabin.     On 
ransacking  around  we  found  a  Yukon  lamp,  con- 
sisting of  a  twisted  bit  of  cotton  stuck  into  a 
pint  bottle  of  seal  oil,  and  when  it  began  to  grow 
dusk  we  lighted  it  and  sat  down  at  the  table  and 
wrote  home  to  our  friends ;  for  the  steamer  had 
gone  further  up  tlie  river  and  would  n^turn  in  a 
few  days,  so  that  letters  sent  down  by  her  would 
probably  be  ahead  of  us  in  getting  home-eioht 
thousand  miles !     We  had  laid  in  a  new  stock^f 
provisions.     Flour,    I   remember   was  8S.(.()  for 
100   pounds,  and  we  managed   t(.  g(>t  a  few  of 


1 


1 


i 


•  1: 


li!' 


I 


1  ii 


152      THROUGH  THE   YUKON  GOLD   DIGGINGS. 

tlio  last  eggs  which  the  steamer  had  brought,  at 
^1.00  a  dozen. 

Tlie  Skookum  had  suffered  considerably  in  our 
Foi'ty  Mile  trip,  and  we  spent  a  large  i)art  of  the 
next  day  in  patching  her,  plugging  her  seams 
with  oakum  and  sealing  them  with  hot  })itch. 
One  of  our  number,  who  was  cooking  for  the 
boat-menders,  suddenly  appeared  on  the  scene, 
chasing  a  pack  of  yelping  dogs  with  our  long 
camp-axe.  lie  had  gone  to  the  woodpile  for  a 
moment,  leaving  the  door  ajar.  At  this  mo- 
ment a  grey  dog  whose  tail  had  been  cut  off 
somehow,  was  looking  around  the  log  house 
opi)osite — he  had  been  on  guard  and  watching 
our  door  for  the  last  twenty-four  hours.  lie 
uttered  a  low  yelp  which  brought  a  dozen  others 
together  from  all  quarters,  all  lean,  strong  and 
sneaking;  and  they  sli])ped  into  our  door. 
When  the  cook  turne  I  from  the  woodpile  a 
minute  later  he  was  just  in  time  to  aim  a  billet 
at  the  last  one  as  he  emerged  from  the  cabin 
with  our  cheese  in  his  mouth.  They  fled  swiftly 
and  were  not  to  be  caught :  and  an  examination 
showed  that  they  had,  in  their  silent  and  Avell 
organized   raid,  cleaned   our  larder  thoroughly. 


THE  FORTY  MILE  DKUUNOS. 


ir)3 


having    oaten    tlio   (k-Iiciicies   on    tlie   s|)ot    and 
carried  off  neai'lv  ail  tlie  rest. 


VH 


*  t! 


!;!!:.■ 


ill 


Native  Docis. 


Tlie  Indian  dog  is  a  study,  for  lie  is  nuieli  un- 
like liis  eivili/ed  l)]'(»tliei'.  He  I'jirely  harlcs,  never 
at  strangei's,  niid  tnkes  no  notii  "  of  a  white  man 
who  arrives  in  tlie  village, — even  tliougli  the  vil- 
lage may  never  have  seen  such  a  thing,  and  tlu^ 
children  scream,  the  women  tlee,  and  the  men  are 
troubled  and  silent — hut  he  howls  nights.  A  dog 
wakes  U|)  in  the  middle  of  the  night,  yawns,  looks 
at  the  stars,  and   list    .s.     There  is  not  a  sound. 


i\ 


11  li 


\i 


I'A    TIIliOUJH  THE   YUKON  (iOLl)  DICUIINaS. 


I 
i  j 


'  1 


i  1 


k 


M 


I     a 


"  How  dull  and  stu})id  it  is  hero  in  Ouklaviga- 
niiito,"  he  thinks;  "not  nearly  as  lively  as  it  was 
in  Muniti'eghloghnienil)raniute.  There  we  had 
fights  nearly  every  night,  sometimes  twice.  If  1 
only  knew  a  dog  1  was  sure  I  could  lick — anyhow, 
here  goes  for  a  good  long  howl.  Til  show  them 
that  there  is  a  dog  in  town  with  sj)irit  enough  to 
make  a  noise,  anyhow."  With  that  he  tunes  up 
— do,  re,  mi,  tra-la-la,  dulce,  crescendo,  grand 
Wagnerian  smash.  The  otlier  dogs  wake  up  and 
one  nudges  the  other  and  says,  "  Oh,  m}^  what  a 
lark !  Isn't  it  fun  !  Let's  yell  too — whoop,  roo, 
riaow  !  "  And  just  as  men  get  excited  at  a  foot- 
ball game,  or  an  election,  or  when  the  fire-alarm 
riiigs,  these  dogs  yell  and  grow  red  in  the  face. 
Then  the  inhabitants  wake  up  and  get  out  after 
the  dogs,  who  run  and  yelp;  and  after  a  while 
each  cur  crawls  into  a  hiding-])lace  and  goes  to 
sleep.  In  the  morning  they  wake  up  and  wriggle 
their  tails.  "  What  enthusiasm  there  was  last 
night — but — er — I  didn't  quite  catch  on  to  the 
idea — of  course  I  yelled  to  help  the  other  fellows 
— it's  such  fun  being  enthusiastic,  you  know." 

This  ha])pens  every  night.     The   Indian  dog 
makes  it  a  point  to  stand  around  like  a  bump  on 


J 


/ 


THE  FORTY  MILE  DIGGIXGS.  166 

a  log  and  look  stupid  ;  when  he  has  fooled  you  to 
that  extent  he  will  suri)rise  you  some  day  by  a 
daring  theft,  for  he  is  clever  as  a  man  and  quick 
as  an  express  train. 


m 


II 


ill 
ill 


m 


ill 


CHAPTER  V. 

THE   AMKHK'AX    (JKKKK    DKiCJINGS. 

FROM  Forty  Mile  wc  Houted  down  the  Yukon 
again,  and  in  a  day's  journey  camped  at  the 
mouth  of  Mission  Creek,  not  tlien  down  on  the 
map.  It  had  received  its  name  tVoni  miners  wlio 
had  come  there  prospecting.  Several  ol"  tlicm 
were  encamped  in  tents,  and  they  came  over  and 
silently  watched  our  cooking,  evidently  sizing  us 
up. 

"  When  did  vou  leave  the  Outside  ?  "  asked  a 
blue-eyed,  blonde,  shaggy  man.  (The  Outside 
means  anywhere  but  Alaska — a  man  who  has 
been  long  in  the  country  falls  into  the  idea  of 
considei'ing  himself  in  a  kind  of  a  prison,  and  re- 
fers to  the  rest  of  the  woi'ld  as  lying  bej^ond  the 
door  of  this.) 

"  In  June,"  we  replied, 

"How  did  the  Harvard- Yale  football  game 
come  out  last  fall  ?  "  he  inquired  eagerly — it  was 
now  August,  and  nearly  time  for  the  next ! 

156 


THE  AMERICAN  CHEEK  DWGINOS.  ir,7 

"Harvard  was  whipped,  of  course,"  we  an- 
swered. 

"Look  here,"  he  said,  tinn^  up,  "you  needn't 
say  '  of  course.'     Harvard  is  mi/  college !  " 

I  was  engaged  in  reinforcing  my  overalls  with 
a  piece  of  bacon  sack ;  I  could  not  help  being 
amused  at  this  fair-haired  savage  being  a  col- 
lege man.  "That  makes  no  diiference,"  I  re- 
plied.    "  Harvard's  our  college  too— all  of  us." 

"  What  are  you  giving  me  ?  "  he  ejaculated,  and 
at  first  I  thought  he  looked  a  little  angry,  as  if 
he  thought  we  were  trifling  with  him;  and  then  a 
little  supercilious,  as  he  surveyed  the  forlorn  con- 
dition of  my  clothing,  which  the  removal  of  the 
overalls  I  wore  instead  of  trousers  had  exposed. 

"  Hard  facts,"  I  said.     "  Classes  of  '92  and  '93. 
Lend  me  your  sheath-knife." 

"  Why-ee !  "  he  exclaimed.  «  Ninety-three's  my 
class.  Shake!— Rah,  rah,  rah!  Who  are  we? 
—You  know !— Who  are  we  ?  We  are  Harvard 
ninety-three— what  can  we  do  ?— What  cax  we 
DO  ?— We  can  lick  Harvard  ninety-two— cocka- 
doodle-doodle-doo— Harvard,  Harvard— ninety- 
two — hooray ! " 

The  next  day  we  tramped  over  to  American 


1^1 


11 


.  t 


% 


fijn 

m 


m 
.1 


m 


'   i 


loH    TlllUU'dll   THE    VrKON  COLD   ItKUilSUS. 

Creek  together,  where  some  new  gold  diggings 
were  just  being  developed.  The  Harvard  miner 
had  had  no  tea  for  several  months,  as  he  tohl  us 
(and  one  who  has  been  living  in  Alaska  knows  wiiat 
a  serious  thing  that  is)  so  we  brought  a  })oun(l  pack- 
age along  to  make  a  drink  for  lunch.  At  Anieri- 
can  Creek  we  got  o,  large  tomato  can  outside  of 
a  miner's  cabin,  and  the  Harvard  num  offered  to 
do  the  brewing. 

"  How  much  shall  I  put  in  ?  "  he  asked. 

"  Suit  yourself,""  was  the  answer. 

He  took  a  tremendous  handful.  "  Is  this  too 
much?"  he  asked,  apologetically.  "You  see,  I 
haven't  had  tea  for  three  months,  and  I  feel  like 
having  a  good  strong  cup."  AV^e  assured  him  that 
the  strength  of  the  drink  was  to  be  limited  only 
by  his  own  desires.  He  was  tem|)ted  to  another 
handful,  and  so  little  by  little,  till  half  the  ])ack- 
age  was  in  the  can.  "When  he  was  satisfied,  we 
told  him  to  keep  the  remaining  half  ])oun(!  for  the 
next  time.     He  was  disa])i)ointed. 

"  \f  I  had  known  you  intended  giving  it  to  nie," 
he  replied,  "  I  wouldn't  have  used  so  much."  AVe 
drank  the  tea  eagerly,  for  we  were  tired,  but  my 
head  spun  afterwards. 


I 


THE  AMEIilCAX  CliEI-.K   I>U.'UL\(.s.  i:,), 

TliiTo  were  some  pjiyiii^-  claims  alreadv  on  this 
creek-it  was  u  little  stream  which  oneeould  leap 
at  almost  i.,iy  i)oint   -and  on  the  day  we  arrived 
we  saw  the  clean-u|)  in  one  of  them.     Jt  was  verv 
<hizzling  to  sec  the  coarse  ^old  that  was  sei-ape'd 
from  the  riHles  of  the  sluice-boxes  into  the  baking- 
powder  cans  which  were  used  to  store  it.     I'iiere 
was  gold  of  all  sizes,  from  line  dust  up  to  pieces 
as  big  as  pumpkin  seed;  but  this  was  the  result 
of  a  week's  work  of  several  men,  and  much  time 
had  been  spent  in  getting  the  claim  readv  before 
work  could  begin.     Still,  the  results   were  very 
good,   the   clean-up   amounting,    I    was  told,  to 
"thirty   dollars  to  the  shovel  "-that  is,  thirty 
dollars  a  day  to  each  man  shovelling  gravel  into 
the  sluices. 

On  the  edge  of  the  stream  the  i-ock,  a  rusty 
slate,  lay  loosely;  one  of  the  miners  was  thrust- 
ing his  pick  among  the  i)ieces  curiously,  and  on 
turning  one  over  showed  the  crevice  beneath  filled 
with  fiat  pieces  of  yellow  gold  of  all  sizes.  They 
were  very  thin  and  probably  worth  only  about 
five  dollars  in  all,  but  lying  as  they  did  the  sight 
was  enough  to  give  one  the  gold  fever,  if  he  did 
not  yet  have  it.     The  Harvard  man  ami  his  com- 


W)    TUJWVOH  TUB   YUKON  (.■01/,  jnooiNGS. 

panion  were  imme<liately  seize,!  ,vitl.  a  violent 
attacl<,  a„,l  set  off  <lo»-n  the  sfean,  to  stake  out 
cla.«.s,  .aeanwliile  talking  over  plans  of  winterin.. 
here,  so  i«  to  be  early  on  the  ground  the  nex'^ 
spring. 

I  slept  on  the  floor  of  a  miner's  eaWn  that 
n-Kht  an,l  the  next  „,orni„g  „,ade  my  way  hack 
to  our  oauip  on  the  Vukon. 


n 


CHAPTER  YI. 

THE  JilllCII   CKEKK  DKJCilNGS. 

'X'HE  next  niglit  we  reached  tliat  part  of  tlie 
*      river  Avhere  Circle  City  was  i)iit  down  on 
the  map  Ave  carried,  l.iit  not  linding  it,  camped 
on  a  gravelly  beach   beneath  a  tind)ered  l)luff. 
When  we  went  uj^  the  bluff  to  get  wood  for  our 
Hre  the  nujsquitoes  fairly  drove  us  back  and  con- 
tinued bothering  us  all  night,  Inting  tiu,  agh  our 
blankets  and  giving  us  very  little  peace,  though 
we   slept   with   our   hats,    veils,   and  gloves  on. 
We  afterwards  found  that  Circle  City  had  at  first 
been   actually   started   at   about  this  point,  but 
was   soon   afterwards   moved   further   down,  to 
where  we  found  it  the  next  day. 

AVe  had  been  looking  forward  to  our  arrival  in 
this  place  for  several  reasons,  one  of  which  was 
that  we  had  had  no  fresh  ment  for  over  a  month, 
and  hoped  to  find  moose  or  cai'ibou  for  sale. 
As  our  boat  came  Jtround  tiie  bend  iind  ap- 
proached the  settlement  of  h)g  huts  (iignified  by 

Kil 


111? 


I 


ill 


162    TUliOUGU  THE   YUKON  GOLD  DIGGINGS. 

the  name  of  Circle  City,  we  noticed  quite  a  lai'ge 
number  of  people  crowding  down  to  the  shore  to 
meet  us,  and  us  soon  as  we  g<jt  within  hailing 
distance  one  of  the  foremost  yelled  out : 

"  Got  any  moose  meat  ?  " 

When  we  answered  "No,"  the  crowd  im- 
mediately dispersed  and  we  did  not  need  to 
inquire  about  the  supply  of  fresh  meat  in 
camp. 

We  landed  in  front  of  the  Alaska  Commercial 
Company's  store,  kept  by  Jack  McQuesten.  On 
junqiing  ashore,  I  went  up  immediately,  in  search 
of  information,  and  as  I  stepped  in  1  heard  my 
name  called  in  a  loud  voice.  I  answered  prom])tly 
"  Here, "  with  no  idea  of  what  Avas  wanted,  for 
there  was  a  large  crowd  in  the  store ;  but  from 
the  centre  of  the  room  something  was  })asse(l  from 
hand  to  hand  towards  me,  which  proved  to  be  a 
package  of  letters  from  home — the  first  news  I 
had  received  for  over  two  months.  On  inquiry 
I  found  that  the  mail  up  the  river  had  just  ar- 
rived, and  the  storekeeper,  who  was  also  i)ost- 
master  ex  ojfrcio,  had  begun  calling  out  the  iid- 
dresses  on  the  letters  to  the  expectant  crowd 
of  miners,  and  had  got  to  my  name  as  I  entered 


THE  BIRCH  CREEK  DIGGINGS. 


\m 


tlie  dooi- — a  coincidence,  I  sui)pose,  but  surely  a 
pleasant  and  striking  one. 

We  obtained  lodgings  in  a  log  house,  large  for 
Circle  City,  since  it  contained  two  rooms.  It 
was  already  occu])ied  by  two  custondiouse  of- 
ficers, the  only  representatives  of  Uncle  Sam 
whom  we  encountered  in  the  whole  region.  One 
room  had  been  used  as  a  storeroom  and  carpenter- 
sho]),  and  here,  on  the  shavings,  we  spread  out 
our  blankets  and  made  ourselves  at  home. 

The  building  had  first  been  built  as  a  church 
by  Jiiissionaries,  but  as  they  were  absent  for  some 
time  after  its  completion,  one  room  was  fitted  up 
with  a  bar  by  a  newly  arrived  enterprising  liquoi*- 
dealer,  till  the  officers,  armed  in  their  turn  with 
the  full  sanction  of  the  church,  turned  the  buildin"- 
into  a  custondiouse  and  hoisted  the  American 
flag,  on  a  pole  fashioned  out  of  a  slim  spruce  by 
the  customs  officer  himself.  The  officers,  when 
we  came  there,  were  sleeping  days  and  working 
nights  on  the  trail  of  some  whisky  smugglers  who 
were  in  the  habit  of  bringing  liquor  down  the 
river  from  Canadian  territory,  in  defiance  of  the 
American  laws. 

There  were  only  a  few  hundred  men  in  Cii'cle 


fl. ' 


I 


J  J 


W'l 


'I 


1(54    TIIKOUail   THE   YUKON  dOLl)  DIGGINGS. 


£! 


ill' 


City  at  this  time,  most  ol  the  miners  being 
away  at  the  diggings,  for  this  was  one  of  the 
busiest  times  of  the  year.  These  diggings  were 
sixty  miles  from  the  camp,  and  were  only  to 
be  reached  by  a  foot  trail  which  led  through 
wood  and  swamp.  Several  newcomers  in  the 
country  were  camped  around  the  ])ost,  waiting 
for  cooler  weather  before  starting  out  on  the  ti'ail, 
for  the  mos(|uitoes,  they  said,  were  frightful.  It 
was  said  that  nobody  had  been  on  the  trail  for 
two  weeks,  on  this  account,  and  l)loo(l-cur(lling 
stories  wei'3  told  of  the  torments  of  some  that 
had  dared  to  try,  and  how  strong  men  had  sat 
down  on  the  trail  to  sob,  (piite  unable  to  with- 
stand the  pest.  However,  we  had  seen  mos- 
quitoes before,  and  the  next  morning  struck  out 
for  the  trail. 

It  was  called  a  wagon  road,  the  brush  and 
trees  having  been  cut  out  suiticiently  wide  for  a 
wagon  to  pass  ;  taken  as  a  footpath,  however,  it 
was  just  fair.  The  mosquitoes  were  actually  in 
clouds ;  they  were  of  enormous  size,  and  had 
vigorous  appetites.  It  was  hot,  too,  so  that  their 
bites  smarted  worse  than  usual.  The  twelve 
miles,  which  the  trail  as  far  as  the  crossing  of 


THE  BIRCH  CREEK  DIGGINGS. 


1(55 


IJircli  C'roek  luid  been  said  to  bo,  Icn^^thoncd  out 
into  an  actual  iifteen,  over  low  rolling  country, 
till  Ave  descended  a  sharp  bluff  to  the  stream. 
Here  a  hail  brought  a  boatman  aci'oss  to  ferry  us 
to  t'  '^  other  side,  where  there  stood  two  low  log 


On  thk  Tramp  Aoaix. 

houses  facing  one  another,  and  connected  over- 
head by  their  projecting  log  roofs. 

This  was  the  Twelve  IMile  Cache,  a  road-house 
for  miners,  and  here  we  spent  the  night.  Each 
of  the  buildings  contained  l)ut  a  single  room,  one 
house  being  used  as  a  slee[)ing  i,^>artment,  the 
other  as  kitchen  and  dining-room.     The  host  had 


ill 


1    H 


ill 


l(i(J      THROUUll   Tin:   Yl'KOX  (lOLI)  DWaiNliS. 


■I 


i  :i 


no  chairs  to  offer  us,  but  only  long  bcnclics ;  and 
there  were  boxes  and  stumps  lor  those  Avho 
could  not  find  room  on  the  benches,  which  Avere 
shorter  than  the  tables.  AVc  ate  out  of  tin 
dishes  and  had  only  the  regulation  bacon,  beans 
and  api)le-sauce,  yet  it  was  with  a  cui'ioiis  feeling 
that  we  sat  down  to  the  meal  and  got  up  from  it, 
as  if  we  were  enjoying  a  little  bit  of  luxury — for 
so  it  seemed  to  us  then.  There  were  eleven  of  us 
who  slept  in  the  building  which  had  been  set 
apart  for  sleeping ;  we  all  provided  our  own 
blankets  and  slept  on  the  i^oor,  which  was  no 
other  than  the  earth,  and  was  so  full  of  humps 
and  hollows,  and  projecting  sharp  sticks  where 
saplings  had  been  cut  off,  that  one  or  the  other 
of  the  company  was  in  misery  nearly  all  night,  and 
roused  the  others  with  his  cursings  and  growling. 
The  eight  who  were  not  of  our  party  were  niin- 
ei's  returning  from  the  diggings  with  their  sea- 
son's earnings  of  gold  in  the  packs  strapped  to 
their  backs  ;  they  all  carried  big  revolvers  and 
were  on  the  h)okout  for  })ossible  highwaymen. 

On  getting  u})  we  washed  in  the  stream,  ate 
breakfast,  and  })repared  to  start  out  again.  In 
the  fine,  bright  morning  light  we  noticed  a  sign 


77/ A'   lilliVll   CREKK  DlUiilSUS.  167 

nail('<l  up  ,„i  tli(>  (linino-  cabin,  wlik-li  we  luul  not 
seen  in  the  dusk  of  tiic  procodino- ev«^ning.  It 
was  a  uotico  to  tliievt's,  and  u  specinion  of  min- 
ers'  law  in  tliis  rough  country. 

NOTICE. 

To   AVirOM  IT    MAY   Co.VCKUN. 

At  a  gennud  hmthuj  ,>f  mhui',^  held  hi  Circle 
Cifij  it  wa.s  the  KimniiHons  Verdict  that  all  thieo- 
nuj  and  dealiixj  shall  he pnai^hed  hij  Whipping 

AT     TIIK     I\)ST    A.NJ)     UaMSH.MKXT    FHom    THE 

Country,  the  secerit,/  <>f  the  whipping  and  the 

guilt  of  the  accu,sed  to  he  determined  hy  the  Jury. 

So  All   Thieves  Be  wake. 

Our  packs  were  about  twenty-five  pounds  oacli, 
and  contained  blankets,  a  little  corned  beef  and 
crackei-s,  and  a  few  other  necessities:  they  were 
heavy  enouoh  before  the  day  was  over.  From 
Twelve  ]\[ile  Cach(>  to  the  diggings  we  travelled 
over  what  was  called  the  Ilog'eni  trail,  since  it 
led  to  the  gulch  of  that  name  :  it  ran  for  the 
whole  distance  through  a  swamp,  and  was  said 
to  be  a  very  good  trail  in  winter— in  summer  it 
was    vile.      AVe   had   been   informed   of   a    way 


11^ 


ii 


'•I' 

I 

ii 

i 

I' I 
n 

i 

•A 


f 


K' 


H* 


HW      TllllOVail   THE   YUKON  GOLD   DIGUlSaS. 

wliicli  bniiic'hcd  off  from  the  IIogY'in  routo  and 
ran  over  drier  ground  to  a  road- house  called  the 
"Central  House,"  hut  we  were  unable  to  pi(;k  uj) 
this;  and  we  discovered  altei'wai'ds  that  it  had 
been  blazed  from  the  Central  House,  but  t'  at 
the  blazing  had  been  discontinued  two  or  three 
miles  before  reaching  the  junction  of  the  Hog'em 
trail,  the  axe-num  having  got  tired,  or  having 
gone  home  for  his  dinner  and  forgotten  to  come 
back.  So  peo})le  like  oui'selves,  starting  for  the 
diggings,  invariably  followed  the  Ilog'em  trail, 
whether  they  would  or  not,  and  those  coming- 
out  of  the  diggings  and  returning  by  way  of  the 
Central  House,  followed  the  blazes  through  the 
woods  till  they  sto})ped,  and  then  wandered 
ahead  blindly,  often  getting  lost. 

The  Hog'em  trail  was  a  continuous  bed  of 
black,  soft,  stinking,  sticky  mud,  for  it  had  been 
well  travelled  over.  At  times  there  was  thick 
moss;  and  again  broad  pools  of  water  of  un- 
certain depth,  with  mud  bottoms,  to  be  waded 
through;  and  long  stretches  covered  with  "nig- 
ger-heads." We  walked  twelve  miles  of  this 
trail  without  stop])ing  or  eating,  for  the  mosqui- 
toes  were   bloodthirsty,   and   even   hunger   can 


THE  lllltCU  CliKKK  DKidlXaS. 


l(i!) 


hardly  tempt  a  mjin  to  bestride  Ji  "  nigger-liead  " 
and  lunch  under  such  conditions.  We  arrived  at 
night   at   Avhat  Avas  called  the  "Jump-Oil',"— a 

sharp  descent  which  succeeded  a  gradual  rise 

where  we  found  two  sturdy  men,  both  old  guides 
from   the   Adirondacks,  engaged  in  felling  the 
trees  which  grew  on  the  nuirgin  of  the  stream,  and 
piling  them  into  a,  log  house.     This  they  intended 
to  use  as  a  road-house,  for  the  travel  here  Avas 
considerable,  especially  in  the   winter.     In  the 
meantime  they  were  living  in  a  tent,  yet  nuiin- 
tained  a  sort  of  hostelry  for  travellers,  in  that 
they  dispensed  meals  to  them.     As  soon  as  they 
were  through  with  the  big  log  they  were  getting 
into  place  when  we  arrived,  they  built  a  fire  on 
the  ground  and  cooked  supper,  after  which  we 
were  invited  to  spread  our  blankets,   with  the 
stars  and  the  grey  sky  for  a  shelter.     They  nuule 
some  apologies  at  not  being  able  to  oflFerus  a  tent 
—theirs  was  a  tiny  alfair,— and  i)r()mise(l  better 
accommo(hitions     if    we    would    come    back    a 
month    from    tlien,    when    the   cabin    would    be 
finished  and  the  chinks  neatly  plugged  with  muck 
and  moss. 

The    next    day's    journey    was   again    twelve 


tsi 


I 


I 


i. 


m 


p 
II 


:'! 


;i  k 


.  I 


!         I 

:  ;  'I 


IW- 


ifl 

11 

l!  ^  J 

1 

170    TlinOlKlH   THE    YUKON   (lOLh    DKKllSdS. 

miles,  over  ahout  the  sjiiuo  kind  of  trnil.  (  ross- 
ing  a  sluggish  stream  Avliich  was  being  convt-ru'd 
into  a  swamp  by  encroaching  vegetation,  we 
were  obliged  to  Avade  neai-lv  waist  deep,  and  then 
our  feet  rested  on  such  oozy  and  sinking  mud  that 
we  did  not  know  but  the  next  moment  we  nught 
disapj)ear  from  sight  entirely.  Further  on,  the 
trail  run  fair  into  a  small  lake,  whose  shores  we 
had  to  skirt.  There  was  no  trail  around,  but  much 
burnt  and  felled  tind)er  hiy  everywhere,  and 
cliud)ing  over  this,  balancing  our  ])<icks  in  tiie 
meantime,  was  "  such  fun."  Sometimes  we  would 
jump  down  from  a  high  log,  and,  slipping  a  little, 
our  packs  would  turn  us  around  in  the  air,  and 
we  would  fall  on  our  backs,  s})i'awling  like  tui'tles, 
and  often  unable  to  get  out  of  our  awkward  })osi- 
tion  without  help  from  our  comrades. 

Keedy  lakes  such  as  this,  fi'inged  Avitli  moss 
and  coarse  grass,  with  stunted  si)ruce  a  little  dis- 
tance away,  are  comnum  through  this  swampy 
country,  and  have  something  of  the  })ictures(pie 
about  them.  The  suri'ounding  vegetation  is  very 
abundant.  Excellent  cranberries  are  found,  bright 
red  in  color  and  small  in  size;  and  on  a  little 
drier  ground  blue-berries  flourish.     Raspberries 


Tiiiiorair  the  yvkos  aoLD  niaaTsas. 


I    '.'I 


of  g<»»(l  size,  although  borne  on  hushes  usually 
not  nior(i  tium  two  or  three  inches  high,  ar(^  also 
here ;  and  red  and  black  currants. 

At  the  end  of  the  second  dny  Ave  arrived  at 
llog'eni  Junction,  where  the  Ilog'eni  trail  unites 
with  tiiat  leading  oil'  to  the  other  gulches  where 
gold  is  found,  llei'e  was  the  largest  road-house 
we  had  seen.     There  were  lifteen  or  twenty  men 

I. 

hanging  about,  mostly  miners  returning  or  going 
to  the  diggings,  jind  a  })rol'essional  hunter — a  sort 
of  wild  man,  who  told  thrilling  stories  of  fight- 
ing bears. 

One  of  the  structures  we  saw  here  was  called 
the  dog-corral  and  was  a  big  enclosure  built  of 
logs.  Dogs  were  used  to  carry  most  of  the  pro- 
visions to  the  Birch  Creek  diggings  from  Circle 
City,  freighting  beginning  as  soon  as  the  snow 
fell  and  everything  froze  hard.  There  Avas  a 
pack  of  these  animals  around  the  inn — a  sneak- 
ing, cringing,  hungjy  lot,  rarely  barking  at  in- 
truders or  strangers,  and  easily  cowed  by  a  man, 
but  very  prone  to  fight  among  themselves.  They 
were  all  Indian  dogs,  and  were  of  two  varieties; 
one  long-haired,  called  Mahlemut,  from  the  fact 
that  its  home  is  among  the  Mahlemut  Eskimo  of 


7'HE  JUliCH  (liKEK   l)I(,(iL\(iS. 


173 


tlio  lower  Ynlvon  ;  tlio  other  sliort-liaircd,  and 
stouter.  Pjotli  breeds  are  of  lai'<^e  size,  and  a 
good  dog  is  ca})al>le  of  ])ulling  as  iniieli  as  4(io 
pounds  on  a  sleigh,  when  tlie  snow  is  vt'rv  good, 
and  the  weather  not  too  cold.  The  doii-rorral  is 
used  to  put  tlio  sleighs  in  when  the  rrei<;hter  ar- 
rives, and  the  dogs  are  left  outside,  to  keop  tiieiii 
away  from  tlie  provisions.  The  winter  price  for 
freight  from  Circle  City  was  seven  cents  jier 
pound  ;  in  summer  it  was  forty. 

We  ate  breakfast  and  supper  at  llog'em  Junc- 
tion, paying  a  dollar  apiece  for  tlie  meals ;  and 
when  we  learned  that  the  bacon  which  was 
served  to  us  had  cost  sixty-live  cents  a  pound,  the 
charge  did  not  seem  too  much.  Is'o  good  bacon 
was  to  be  had,  that  which  we  ate  being  decidedly 
strong;  and  even  this  kind  had  to  be  hunted  after 
at  this  time  of  the  year.  Not  only  was  food 
very  high  in  the  diggings,  but  it  could  not  al- 
ways be  bought,  so  that  in  the  winter,  when 
freighting  was  chea]),  enough  could  not  often  be 
obtained  to  last  through  the  next  summei',  and 
the  miners  had  to  wait  for  the  steamer  to  come 
up  the  Yukon.  The  llog'em  Junction  innkeeper 
paid  twenty  dollars  for  a  case  of  eva))orated  fruit. 


i 


mmmf^mmmmmm 


vmsmm 


mmimmmmm 


H  i ; 


H 


I 


i 


h& 


I'  !■  f 

Is  A:  ': 


\>i   'll 


•it 

'  1l 


171    TIIROVail  I'HK   YUKON  aOLD   l)laah\(JS. 

such  as  cost  a  dollar  in  San  Francisco  ;  condensed 
inilk  was  one  dollar  a  can,  and  suijar  eiiilitv-five 
cents  a  pound.  The  previous  winter  beans 
brought  one  dollar  a  })ound,  and  butter  two  and 
a  half  dollars  it  roll.  In  summer  jdl  prices  were 
those  of  Circle  Citv,  plus  foi'ty  cents  freighting, 
[)lus  ten  cents  handling.  So  a  sack  of  potatoes, 
which  I  was  told  would  cost  twenty-live  cents  in 
the  state  of  "Washington,  cost  here  eight v-live 
dollars.  Even  in  Circle  Citv  the  orices,  though 
comparativel}''  low,  were  not  exactly  what  })eo- 
ple  would  expect  at  a  bargain  counter  in  one  of 
our  cities.  AVinch.ester  rifles  were  sold  for  fifty 
dollars  apiece,  and  calico  brought  lifty  cents  a 
yard.  Luckily  there  were  few  women  folks  in 
the  country  at  that  time! 

Of  the  llog'em  Junction  Inn  I  I'ave  little  dis- 
tinct recollection  excpt  concerning  the  meals. 
"We  were  so  hungry  wh"".  we  reached  there  that 
the  food  ([uestion  was  indelibly  bi'anded  on  our 
memory.  For  the  rest  I  rememi)ei'  that  when 
supjM'r  was  cleared  away,  the  guests  wra|>ped 
themselves  in  their  ju'ivate  blankets  and  lay 
dovn  anywhere  they  thought  best.  Tlio'e  was 
a   log    outhouse    with    some   ruile    bunks   iilled 


THE   niRCH  VliEKK  DKlClXdS. 


175 


with  sti-aw,  for  tlioso  who  preferred,  so  in  a 
short  time  we  were  stowed  uwjty  witli  truly 
inedian-al  simplicity,  to  sleep  heavily  until  the 
summons  came  to  breakfast,— for  there  were  no 
"hotel  hours"  for  hizy  guests  at  this  inn,  and  he 
who  did  not  turn  out  for  a  seven  o'clock  break- 
fast Ljould  go  without. 

We    three    separated    on    leaving   hej-e,   each 
taking  a  different  ti-ail,  so  that  we  might  see  all 
of  the  gulches  in  a  short  space  of  time.     I  shoul- 
dered my  blankets  and  after  a  seven  mile  tramp 
through  the  brush  came  to  the  foot  of  Ifog'em 
Gulch,  which  was  in  a  deep  valley  in  the  hills 
that  now  rose  above  the  plain.     This  gulch  de- 
rived its  name  from  the  fact  that  its  discoverer 
tried  to  hog  all  the  claims  for  himself,  taking  up 
some  for  his  wife,  his  wife's  brother,  his  brother, 
and    the   niece   of   his   wife's  particulnr  friend; 
even,  j>,  is  said,  inventing   fictitious  personages 
that  he  might  stake  out  claims  ior  them.     The 
other  miners  disappointed  him  in  his  schemes  for 
gain,  and  they  contemptuously  called  the  creek 
"  irog'em."     Afterwards  a  faction  of  the  claim- 
owners  ])i'oposed  to  change  the  name  to  Dead- 
wood,  claiming  that  it  sounded  better  and  was 


m 


r 

!.       f 

'!'« 

17(i    TllROrmi   THE    VrKON   aoLl)   DKidlSUS. 


[;     -M 


also  ai>pro|)riaU',  inasmuch  as  they  had  got  that 
vai'iety  of  timber  on  the  schemer.  It  was  some- 
what unkindly  Jisserted,  howevei',  hv  those  Avho 
were  not  residents  of  the  gulch,  that  the  lirst 
name  was  always  the  most  appropriate,  since  the 
spirit  of  the  discoverer  seemed  to  have  gone 
down  to  his  successors. 

Be  that  as  it  niav,  I  noticed  a  remarka1>le  dif- 
fcrence  between  tlie  men  whom  1  found  working 
their  chiims  along  the  creek  and  the  miners  of 
Forty  Mile.  Kobody  showed  the  slightest  Ik^s- 
])itality  or  friendliness,  except  one  man  on  the 
lower  creek,  who  invited  me  to  share  his  little 
tent  at  night.  He  had  not  enough  blankets  to 
keejt  him  warm,  so  I  added  mine,  and  beneath 
them  both  we  two  slei)t  very  comfortably.  In 
the  morning  he  cooked  a  very  simpile  meal  over 
a  tiny  lire  outside  of  the  tent — wood  was  scarce 
along  here — and  invited  me,  with  little  talk,  to 
partake  of  it  with  him.  He  was  evidently  far 
from  hajipy  in  this  cli^^erless  existence;  he  was 
working  for  wages,  whicii,  lo  be  sure,  were  ten 
dolh'.rs  a  day,  but  with  j>r>visions  as  high  as  they 
were  this  was  nothing  mnitch,  and  the  work  was 
so  iianl  tkit.  great  stalwart  man  as  he  was,  he 


m 


( 

1       •  1 
I         '  !  1  ' 

;■       1  ■    ' 

i 

)         1 


i     ■     t 


pi 


17H    THROrail    THE   YUKON  GOLD   DIGUINUS. 

had  lost  tliirty  pounds  since  ho  hiul  begun,  lie 
would  have  liked  to  return  to  tlie  States,  for  he 
was  somewhat  discouraged,  but  he  could  not 
save  enough  money  to  pay  for  the  exi)ensive 
passage  out.  I  hope  he  has  struck  it  rich  since 
then  and  brought  back  to  his  wife  and  babies  the 
fortune  he  went  to  seek ! 

After  I  left  this  silent  man,  I  found  none  wlio 
siiowed  much  interes:.  Some  of  them  wei'e  a 
little  curious  as  to  v/hat  I  was  doing,  but  most 
of  them  were  fiercely  and  feverishly  working  to 
make  the  most  of  the  hours  and  weeks  which 
renuiined  of  the  mining  season  ;  the  run  of  gold 
was  ordinarily  very  good,  and  all  were  anxious 
to  make  as  good  a  final  clean-up  as  possible.  At 
dinner-time  everybody  rushed  to  their  meal,  and 
I  sat  down  by  the  side  of  the  trail,  ate  stale 
corned  beef,  broken  crackers,  and  drank  the 
creek  water.  When  I  was  half-way  through  1 
observed  two  young  men  in  a  tent  munching 
their  meal,  but  watching  me ;  and  a  sort  of 
righteous  indignation  came  upon  me,  as  must 
always  seiz _'  the  poor  when  he  beholds  the  abun- 
dance of  the  rich  man's  table.  I  walked  into  the 
tent  and  asked  for  a  share  of  their  dinner.     They 


THE  lilKnil   rUEKK  DIGGINGS. 


17!) 


gave  1110  a  place,  but  so  surlily  that  I  said  hotly, 
"See  here,  I'll  pay  you  for  this  dinner,  so  don't 
be  so  stingy  about  it."  The  offer  to  })ay  was  an 
insult  to  the  miner's  tradition  and  one  of  them 
gi'owled  out, 

"  None  of  that  kind  of  talk,  d've  hear?  You'i'e 
welcome  to  whatever  we've  got,  and  don't  yer 
forget  it !  Only  there's  been  a  good  many  bums 
along  here  lately,  and  we  was  getting  tired  of 
them." 

After  this  they  were  pleasanter,  although  I 
could  not  help  reflecting  tliat  I  was  actually  a 
bum,  as  they  put  it,  and  mentally  pitied  the  pro- 
fessional tramp,  if  his  evii  destiny  should  ever 
lead  him  into  the  Yukon  country. 

As  it  grew  near  nightfall  I  climbed  out  of  the 
gulch,  and,  crossing  the  I'idge,  dropped  down 
into  Greenhorn  Guldi,  which,  with  its  neighbor 
Tinhorn  (nilch,  form  depressions  parallel  to 
Ilog'em.  There  was  only  one  claim  working 
here,  and  on  this  the  supply  of  water  was  so 
scarce  that  not  much  vrashing  could  be  done. 
The  people  seemed  like  tht>se  of  Ilog'em  Gulch, 
and  took  little  notice  of  strangers.  I  laving 
learned  a  new  code  of  manners  on  Birch  Creek, 


<i' 


^\'- 


i 


fPir 


mm 


I 


•I 


'  ■  I 


IHO    THROUGH  THE   YUKON  GOLD  DIGGINaS. 

however,  I  walked  into  the  cabin  where  one  of 
the  ckiini  owners  was  getting  supper.  lie  was 
a  short,  powerful,  fierce-eyed  man,  who  never 
sniileo,  and  spoke  with  an  almost  frenzied  ear- 
nestness. He  did  not  speak  for  some  time,  how- 
ever, but  glared  suspiciously  wlien  I  walked  in. 
1  looked  at  him  without  nodding,  took  olT  my 
pack  and  })ut  it  in  th-»  orner,  sat  down  on 
a  stool  and  fished  ny  pipe  out  of  my  pocket, 
lie  glared  until  he  was  tired,  and  then  said : 
"ILallo!" 

"  Hallo,"  I  returned,  and  drawing  up  to  the 
table,  began  working  with  my  specimens  and 
notebook.  Looking  up  and  finding  him  still  re- 
garding me,  I  continued :  "  How's  the  claim 
turning  out  ?  " 

"Pretty  fair!"  he  growled.  "What  in  h— 1 
are  ijon  reportin'  for  V  "  "  Uncle  Sam,"  I  replied. 
He  was  from  the  moonshine  district  of  Tennessee, 
and  this  was  no  recommendation  to  him,  so  he 
kej)t  his  eye  on  me.  Presently  his  "])ardner" 
came  in  and  looked  at  me  inquiringly.  I  spoke 
to  him  (piitc  warndy,  as  if  T  was  welcoming  him 
to  the  cabin.  Soon  supper  was  ready,  and  the 
fierce-eved  moonshiner  looked  at  me  four  or  live 


THE  IllliCIf  CREEK  njaaiNGS. 


IHI 


y 


times,  tlion  said,  beckoning-  nie  to  the  table: 
"Set  up." 

After  supi)er  the  two  men  crawled  into  their 
bunks;  I  s})read  my  blankets  on  the  floor.  The 
Tennessee  num  poked  liis  head  out. 

"  (Toin'  to  sleep  on  the  floor?"  he  asked. 

"  Yes,"  answered  I.  lie  crawled  out  and  pulled 
a  caribou  hide  from  the  rafters  above. 

"Lay  on  that,"  he  said. 

AVhen  1  thanked  him,  ho  looked  at  me  suspi- 
ciously. 

In  the  mornino-  I  sat  down  to  breakfast  with- 
out being  asiced,  ami  ate  enormously  ami  silently. 
The  moonshiner  warmed  up  at  this. 

"  You're  a  better  sort  of  feller  than  I  thought 
at  first,"  he  said ;  "  I  thought  you  was  goin'  to 
be  one  of  them  d — d  polite  fellers." 

"Me?  Oh,  no;  not  me,"  I  re})lied,  "you're 
tliinkin'  of  some  one  else,  I  reckon  ?" 

After  breakfast  he  showed  me  his  gold  dust ; 
a  little  flat  ])iece  interested  me,  and  I  said, 
"Gimme  that,  Til  pay  yer ;  what's  it  worth?" 

"Nothin',"  he    re[)lied.     "Yer   can   take   it." 

Afterwards  I  shouldered  my  pack  and  nuide 
for    the    door;    when    I    got    there    I    stopped 


i'i 


H  lit 


II- ;, 


If 


182  Til  nova  H  ruE  yukon  gold  inaaixas. 

and  looked  over  my  shoulder  and  saitl,  "  80 
long !  " 

"  So  long-  to  i/ou  !  "  he  answered,  looking  after 
nie  with  more  human  intei'est  than  1  had  ])re- 
viously  seen  in  aim.  "  8toj)  here  when  you  come 
this  way  again." 

I  climbed  out  of  the  gulch  and  walked  along 
the  mountain  ridge  for  a  while,  encountering, 
whenever  there  was  no  wind,  swarms  of  the  tiny 
gnats  which  the  miners  often  dread  worse  than 
the  mosquitoes.  They  are  so  numerous  as  actu- 
ally to  obscure  the  sun  in  ])laces  and  thev  till 
nose,  ears,  and  eyes ;  there  is  no  escape  from 
them,  for  they  are  so  small  that  they  go  through 
the  meshes  of  a  mosquito  net  with  the  greatest 
ease.  On  top  of  the  ridge,  where  the  wind  blew, 
they  disappeared.  As  I  walked  along  here  1 
met  a  prospector,  and  after  a  friendly  talk  with 
him,  dro])i)ed  down  another  mountain-side  to  the 
bed  of  In(le])endence  Creek,  and  followed  that  to 
the  junction  of  JMammoth  Creek,  so  called  from 
the  nund)er  of  hemes  of  the  extinct  elephant,  or 
mammoth,  which  are  buried  there.  AVading 
across  a  swam]),  1  found  in  the  brush  another 
road-house,  the  Mammoth  Junction.     This  was  a 


THE  UlUrn  CREEK  DILI  GIN  (IS. 


183 


liirg(3  lo<3^  building  contuiiiing  a  single  room, 
wliic'h  served  as  kitchen,  dining-room,  parlor, 
general  bedroom,  and  barroom.  At  lirst  I  was 
the  only  guest,  but  afterwards  a  prospector  ar- 
ri»ed  from  a  liai-d  trij)  to  the  Tanana,  and  he 
related  his  exj)eriences ;  h<nv  he  had  shot  three 
bears,  seven  caribou,  and  a  moose  in  seven  days. 
He  was  a  tall,  well-built  Cape  Bretoner,  Dick 
McDonald  bv  name.  When  he  iiot  tired  of 
talking  I  sp'-ead  my  l)lankets  on  the  floor  (for 
which  privilege  I  paid  tifty  cents)  and  gladly 
stowed  myself  away  for  the  night. 

The  next  day  a  tramp  of  seventeen  miles 
brought  me  to  the  Centi'al  House,  on  the  way 
home  from  the  diggings ;  for  although  our  ren- 
dezvous should  have  been  at  Mammoth  Junction, 
yet  I  concluded  to  wait  for  the  others  at  Circle 
City.  The  trail  was  verv  bad,  and  dui'ino-  the 
lirst  part  of  the  journey  the  gnats  were  as  annoy- 
ing as  they  had  been  on  the  mountains  the  day 
before.  There  wen^  millions  of  them.  During 
the  last  part  the  moscjuitoes  got  the  upper  hand, 
and  gave  me  the  strictest  attention. 

"Ah,"  I  soliloquized,  ])erspiring  freely  and 
tugging  at  my  [)ack  straps  like  a  jaded  horse  at 


il 


1^ 


Irtl    TUnoVdII   THE    YVKOS   (.OLD   DKHUNdS. 

Ills  hiinioss,  "  tlio  ti'ials  ol'  an  Alaskan  pioiuHT ! 
Stumbling'  and  stag<^(3rin<^'  lliroiigli  mud  knce- 
dcop,  and  tlirou^li  ni<^gci'- heads,  wading  streams, 
lighting  gnats  and  ni<»s(juitoes,  sutl'ering  often 
IVom  hunger  and  thirst,  and  rolling  into  ojie's 
soh'  pair  of  blankets  under  the  I'rosty  stars  or  the 
rain-elouds  ! " 

When  my  views  were  thus  gloomy,  a  smell 
of  smoke  came  to  my  nostrils,  ami  ci'ossing  a 
little  stream  on  a  fallen  tree,  1  came  to  tiie 
friendly  inn  1  was  seeking. 

The  next  morning,  at  live  o'clock  by  my 
"watch  and  eight  by  the  host's,  (it  is  unneces- 
sary to  observe  that  there  was  no  standard  time 
used  in  the  ]}irch  Creek  district)  I  started  for 
Twelve  Mile  Cache.  The  first  part  of  the  trail 
was  fairly  well  worn,  but  was  covered  with  small 
deatl  trees  which  had  fallen  across  it,  necessitating 
the  continual  lifting  of  the  feet  and  the  taking  of 
irregular  stej)s.  Ten  miles  of  this  was  enough  to 
make  one  very  weary.  I  lunched  on  my  stale 
corned  beef  and  cracker  crund)s,  and  drank  from 
a  little  creek  that  I  crossed.  Soon  after  this, 
I  came  to  a  place  where  a  newly  blazed  trail, 
leading  to  the  Twelve  Mile  Cache,  diverged  from 


■ 


THE  HIIU'H  CUKr.K   DKldlSUS, 


|H- 


tlidohler  patli,  wliicli  i-iiii  uj)  over  the  mountains. 
Deciding  to  talco  tlio  newer  route,  I  I'ound  it  verv 
hard  wallcing,  esju'ciaily  as  niv  teet  wore  eiad  in 
tin;  Kskinjo  sealskin  hoot,  or  inal<ah)k,  wliieh  arc 
s(.rt  and  otfor  little  protection.     Much  of  the  road 
lay  among  immenso  untrodden  nigger-heads  and 
in  swampy  brush,   where  the  sticks  which  had 
been  cut  off  in  making  the  trail  stuck  u[)  three 
or  four  inches  ai)ove  the  ground,  just  convenient 
for  stubbing  the  toe;  and  yet  the  long  gi-ass  (piite 
concealed  them,  so  they  could  not   be  avoided. 
Afterwards   the  trail  struck  into  an  old  winter 
sleighing  road,  and  I  got  on  more  rapidly  for  a 
few  miles  ;  but  the  uios(|uitoes  had  increased  to 
legions  and  stung  i)ainfully.     The  gnats  and  flies 
were  also  numerous,  the  big  deer  flies  bitin<>-  mv 
ears  where  the  mosquito  netting  rested  on  them, 
till  they  were  bloody. 

At  about  four  o'clock  the  cut  trail  came  to  an 
end,  and  here  was  a  stick  pointing  into  the 
woods,  inscribed  : 

"FOLLlCIl     THES     T?LAIES     TO     TWKLV     ^llLL 

House.     Six  ]\Iills  to  Twklv  Mill  Iloi  sk  <> 
Mills  Central  IIotse." 

The  "blaies"  (^blazes)  had  been  newly  cut,  and 


h 


If 


IMAGE  EVALUATION 
TEST  TARGET  (MT-S) 


^^.^ 


1.0 


I.I 


1.25 


m  126 

j  5  0      "^" 

■1  m 

!^    140 


m 

2.0 


U     III  1.6 


m 


^ 


/} 


/a 


^^f 


o>. 


c*l 


'/ 


/^ 


Photographic 

Sciences 

Corporation 


23  WEST  MAIN  STR££T 

WEBSTER,  N.Y    14580 

(716)  873-4503 


6 


f  'J 


IrtO    THltOUGH  THE    YUKON  GOLD  DRKilNGS. 


IO«i 


as  I  started  to  follow  tlioin,  it  seemed  that  they 
led  through  the  thickest  of  the  brush,  where  it 
was  almost  impossible  to  light  one's  way,  espe- 
cially with  a  pack,  which  j>rotrudes  on  both 
sides  of  the  shouldei*s,  and  which  often  wedges 
one  firmly  between  two  saplings.  Soon  the 
bla/es  grew  further  and  further  ai)art ;  after 
leaving  one  it  often  took  ten  minutes  to  find  the 
next,  scouting  around  everywhere  in  the  tangle 
of  i)ushes.  The  mos(|uitoes  kept  up  their  attacks, 
and  my  head  began  to  ache  sj)littingly,  j)artly 
fi'om  tlieir  bites  and  partly  from  the  jerking 
of  the  head  strap  of  my  i)ack  in  my  struggles 
through  the  brush. 

At  last  in  despair  I  abandoned  the  attempt  to 
f«>ll()w  th(^  bhi/es,  and  turning  scpiare  away  fi'om 
them,  struck  off  in  the  direction  where  1  knew 
the  lloii'em  Junction  trail,  bv  which  we  had 
reached  the  diggings,  must  lie,  steering  by  my 
compass.  \'erv  soon  I  found  better  walking, 
— comparatively  open  swampy  j)atches,  with  alder 
thickets  between — and  in  half  a  mile  I  cut  into 
the  trail  I  was  seeking.  Three  miles  of  this  trail 
brought  me  to  Twelve  l^Iile  Cache,  after  one  t)f 
the  hardest  days  I  had  had  in  Alaska.     ('<mii)ared 


V 


THK  liiiicif  (REKK  niaaixas.  im 

"'itJi  sucli  a  trip  as  this  the  dreacled  Chilkoot  J>ass 
^vas  not  so  formidable,  jiftor  all.  The  entire 
•iistance  I  had  travelled  was  twenty-seven  miles 
I  luid  counted  my  paees  through  it  all,  and  they 
tallied  with  the  count  of  my  companions,  who 
fame  on  later. 

^  For  supper  at  Twelve  Mile  Cache  we  had  fresh 
fisl«,~pike  and  Arctic  trout-taken  from  a  trap 
m  the  river,  and   fresh   vegetables  raised  on  the 
roof,  which    was  covered  with  a  luxuriant  gar- 
<len.     A  thick  layer  of  rich  loam  had  been  ,.ut 
on,  and  the  seed  dropped  into  this  throve  anuiz- 
ingly,   for   the  fires   inside    the   cabin   supplied 
^varmth,  and  the  plants  did  not  have  to  light 
agamst  the  eternal  frost  which  lies  everywhere 
a  short  distance  below  the  surface.      The  lono- 
glorious  sunshine  of  the  northern  suTnmerdid  the 
mst,  and  splendid  potatoes,  rutabagas,  cabbages, 
beets,  and  lettuce  were  the  results. 

The  Hfteen  miles  back  to  Circle  City  the  next 
<lay  was  a  very  weary  walk,  for  mv  overwork  on 
the  day  before  had  left  me  tired  out.  The  mos- 
<luitoes  were  maddening  on  the  last  part  of  the 
trail,  in  spite  of  gloves  and  veil.  On  getting  into 
Circle  City,  however,  I  was  kindly  welcomed  by 


188    THliOrail   THE   YVKON  GOLD  DlUdlSGS. 


■it  ■! 


my  friends,  the  customs  officers,  and  given  a 
square  meal.  The  room  we  had  occupied  as  a 
bedroom  had,  in  the  sliort  time  since  wo  had  left, 
been  put  to  still  other  uses.  A  newly  arrived 
physician  was  using  it  for  a  laboratory,  and  a 
man  who  had  brought  a  scow  load  of  merchandise 
down  the  Yukon  was  storing  his  stuff  in  the  same 
room.  Also  a  red-sweatered  young  man  turned 
up  who  said  he  had  been  told  to  sleep  here,  but 
the  customs  officers  kicked  him  out  and  he  went 
and  slept  under  an  upturned  boat  on  the  bank. 
After  a  bath  I  felt  refreshed,  but  glancing  into  a 
looking-glass  for  the  first  time  for  many  a  da}', 
I  saw  that  my  a[)pearance  was  still  against  me. 
I  was  a  long-haireil,  bushy-bearded,  ragged,  belted 
and  knifed  wild  man,  not  fair  to  look  upon. 

I  spent  the  next  day  in  wandering  around  town 
in  a  desultory  fashion,  and  on  returning  to  the 
customhouse  found  the  door  locked.  AVhen  I 
knocked  I  was  challenged  and  then  cautiously 
admitted  :  on  entering  I  was  surprised  to  see  the 
officers  with  tneir  rifles  ready  for  use  alongside 
of  them.  Itoss  lifted  up  the  strip  of  calico  which 
formed  a  curtain  hiding  the  space  under  the  bed 
and  disclosed  two  good-sized  kegs.     These  he  told 


A 


THE  BIRCH  CREEK  DIGGINdS. 


188 


me  he  and  Wendling  (the  other  otiicer)  had  seized 
while  we  were  away.  It  was,  ami  is,  entirely  il- 
legal to  bring  licjuor  into  the  territory  of  Alaska, 
and  this  law  and  its  attendant  features  have 
brouffht  about  much  of  the  dishonesty  and  cor- 
ruption  which  have  made  the  inside  history  of 
Alaskan  government  since  its  acquisition  by 
Americans  such  a  dismal  one. 

In  Circle  City  licjuor  was  freely  brought  down 
the  river  from  the  British  side  of  the  boundary. 
The  lirst  customs  inspector  was  said  to  have  been 
a  notorious  rascal,  who  had  not  only  winked  at 
the  bringing  in  of  liquor,  but  had  taken  a  hand 
in  the  trade  himself.  The  present  representa- 
tives of  the  government,  however,  seemed  to 
wish  to  do  their  dutv,  and  their  watchinfr  nights 
and  sleeping  da^'s  had  finally  resulted  in  their 
trapping  the  smugglers  as  tiiey  were  landing,  and 
they  had  captured  the  whisky  and  had  brougiit 
it  to  the  customhouse,  where  the  whole  camp 
knew  it  to  be.  The  whole  camp  was  interested 
in  it,  nioreover,  for  it  had  been  whisky -dry  ;  and 
the  feeling  towards  the  otticers  was  probably 
none  of  tiie  best  in  any  (juarter,  although  most 
recognized   that   tiiey   were   simply  doing  their 


i 


M 


iff! 


.'!■• 


•'■jl 


5  '  v: 


i 


■'it 


H 

'I, 


I    '     ! 


iiMi  THiion.'ii  Tin:  vi'Kox  hold  i>1(.(;l\(is 

duty.  At  the  enonnously  high  i)rices  wliich 
provailcfl,  these  two  kegs  were  worth  sevei'ul 
thoustiiul  (lolhirs,  and  so  were  vjihuibh*  hoot  v. 
Tlierefore,  a  |>h>t  had  heeii  liatelied  to  recover 
the  )i<|Uor,  and  this  ])h>t  had  come  to  the 
officers'  ears  a  few  hours  before  tiie  ronjt  was  to 


ClSTOM    llorsK   AT  Cll«LK  tlTY. 


liave  taken  phice.  Hence  tlie  caution  antl  war- 
like preparations  whidi  greeted  nie.  Tiie  men 
from  whom  the  whisky  iiad  been  taken  were 
the  leaders  in  the  scheme,  and  they  had  also 
enlisted  several  miners,  among  them  a  gigantic 
fellow   who  called  himself  "Caribou  Jiill,"  and 


THE  BIRCH  CREEK  DUUilSliS.  IM 

whom  [  luid  met  on  the  trail  to  the  dig^nngs. 
Jiill  gave  the  tiling  away  hy  going  to  a  saloon- 
keei)er  and  trying  to  borrow  a  senmd  revolver 
—he  already  had  one.  On  being  (luestioned  as 
to  why  he  wantetl  it,  he  took  the  saloon-keeper 
into  his  confidence.  The  saloon-keej)er  tohi  a 
friend  of  his,  who  being  also  a  friend  of  one  of 
the  customs  officers,  cautioned  him. 

Both  of  the  officers  advised  me  to  go  elsewhere 
till  the  trouble  was  over,  but  reflecting  that  I 
was  their  guest  and  so  under  obligations  to  them, 
and  also  that  I  was  an  officer  of  Uncle  Sam,  and 
was  in  tluty  bound  to  "  uphold  the  government 
of  the   United   States  by  land  and  sea,  against 
foreign    and    domestic    enemies"   as   had   been 
si)eciffed  in  my  oath  of  office,  I  decided  to  remain 
with   them.     Koss   hunted   up  two  of    his  old 
friends  amon*.-  the  miners  and  told  them  he  i)ro- 
posed  to  resist  the  attack  till  the  last,  and  that  if 
there  should  be  any  bloodshed  he  hoped  the  camp 
would  treat  him  fairly,  considering  that  he  had 
simply  been  doing  his  duty.     The  miners  off^ered 
to  stay  with  us  and  help  in  the  resistance,  but  as 
we  knew  their  hearts  were  hardly  in  their  offer 
of  loyalty,  we  refused  to  let  them  stay.     One  of 


i!):i  Tunonm  the  vckox  (.old  druhmis. 


i«  I  SI 

'  if 

,  tip 

i  ■  'Ik 


vm 


!?!:• 


Ill 


ii: 


tlioi!!,  however,  loaned  liis  riMe  to  Wen(lliii<^r ;  and 
us  he  went  to  get  it,  a  couple  of  forms  hehiiid  the 
house  jumped  uj)  and  ran  away.  The  other 
miner,  who  had  also  gone  out  for  a  m«»ment,  re- 
turned with  the  news  that  he  had  seen  four  men 
skulking  behind  the  bank  which  lav  in  front  of 
the  house. 

The  plan  of  the  smugglers  and  their  friends, 
as  Koss  had  leai'ned  it,  was  to  come  to  the  door 
of  the  cabin  and  knock.  AVhen  the  olHcer  went 
to  the  door  to  open  it,  he  would  be  covered  nith 
a  revolver,  and  the  second  officer  with  another, 
and  the  whisky  would  be  rolled  out  and  over  the 
bank  into  a  boat  which  would  convey  it  up  the 
river  into  a  new  hiding-place.  If  the  ollicers  re- 
sisted thev  would  be  shot  and  the  whisk v  taken 
just  the  same.  The  i)lan  we  determined  u})on 
was  to  leave  the  door  unlocked,  so  that  when  the 
expected  knock  should  come  we  woultl  not  have 
to  go  to  the  door  to  o])en  it,  but  would  call  out 
"Come  in"  without  stirring.  I  had  my  post  (m 
a  box  near  the  wall  directly  opposite  the  door, 
while  Koss  sat  in  the  darkness  close  by  the  win- 
dow, so  that  when  the  knocker  should  enter  he 
would  find  the  muzzles  of  repeating  rilles  levelled 


' 


THE   nine  11   CUEEK   DlCidlSdS.  ij);{ 

at  hiiii  from  two  <»|)|)osito  directions,  and  bo 
invited  to  drop  his  lire-arms  and  surrender, 
n'endling  was  in  the  other  room  watchin^r 
tlio  second  door  and  win(h>\v,  but  we  did  no^t 
expect  the  attaciv  to  be  made  tiiere,  since  tiio 
sniu^r^riers  must  know  very  well  that  the  whisky 
was  in  the  oilicers'  living-room,  where  we 
Nvere. 

Directly  after  we  had  taken  our  places  a  man 
came  and  stood  twenty  yards  in  front  of  the 
cabin  in  the  dusk,  and  beckoned.     Ross  went  out 
to  him,  and  a  long  talk  ensued,  which  ended  by 
the  officer  returning,     lie  said  that  the  man  had 
told  him  that  we  were  three  against  many,  and 
that  they  were  bound   to  get  the  whisky  any- 
way, since  it  was  theirs  and  they  would  light  for 
It;  so  if  Ko.ss  would  simply  yield  without  light- 
ing it  would  save  us.     At  the  same  time  they 
would  be  willing  to  pay  him  a  nice  little  sum  as 
a  plaster  wherewith  to  heal  his  wounded  dignitv. 
lioss  had  replied  that  they  had  mistaken'their 
man;  whereupon  he  was  informed  that  he  must 
take  the  conscipiences.     So  he  retni-ned,  and  we 
waited  with  tense  nerves,  in  momentary  expecta- 
tion of  an  attack,  our  eyes  strained,  our  lingers 


104    rmtonsii  Tin:  vckox  aoin  Dusaisas. 


A  »!! 


n^-.. 


•X  \ 


on  the  triggers  of  our  cocked  riiles,  our  ears  lis- 
tening. 

Alter  an  hour  or  more  luul  passed,  and  no 
sound  was  heard,  the  suspense  began  to  grow  un- 
hearable.  Koss  whispered  to  uie,  "If  them  fel- 
lers are  coming  I  wish  they'd  hurry  up,  and  not 
keep  us  waiting  here  all  night."  Shortly  after- 
wards Wendling,  crawling  cautiously  and  silently 
around  in  the  other  room,  knocked  down  hinn 
some  shelf  on  the  wall  a  pile  of  tin  pans,  which 
made  a  terrific  rattle  and  bang;  this  ujjset  our 
tightly-drawn  nerves  so  that  we  laughed  convul- 
sively, trying  to  choke  down  our  meri'iment  so 
that  it  could  not  be  heard.  Still  no  noise  from 
the  outside,  save  that  once  we  heard  coughing  be- 
hind the  logs  at  the  back  of  the  buihling.  Koss, 
peering  through  the  window,  saw  now  and  then 
a  shadowy  form  creeping  along  the  bank  in 
front ;  and  Wendling,  reconnoitring  through  the 
Avmdow  in  the  other  room,  saw  other  llgures 
passing  around  back  of  the  house.  And  still  no 
alari.;.  Sitting  bolt  upright  on  my  box,  I  sud- 
denly caught  my  head,  which  was  in  the  act  of 
falling  forward — caught  it  with  a  jerk  which 
brought  my  eyes  wide  open,  and  at  the  same  time 


THE  UIHt'lI  CHEEK  DKldlXHS.  m 

horror  nilcd  my  soul— I  was  in  djingrr  of  fjilling 
asleep  !     Tliis  frin;lit,.ne(l  me  so  tljut  I  kept  ji wake 
easily  after  that.     So  we  waited  till  the  mornin^r 
^n-ey   hri^rhtened  in  the  sky,   wlien  linaiiv   lios^ 
••«'mark(.<l :      "Well,   there's    no    more    dann-er, 
and    I'm    tired   enough    to  sleep."      We   rolled 
ourselves   in   our   hlankets  and   dropped  asleep 
without   a   moment's   delay,   not   waking    until 
the   day   was  late  and  (ioodrich  and  Schrader, 
just   returning   f,.,„„   the  diggings,  pounded  on 
the  door  and  asked  for  admission  and  a  bite  to 
eat. 

Concerning  the  reasons  why  the  raid  was  given 
up,  there  was  much  inner  history  that  I  never 
learned.  J  suspect  that  the  miners  who  had  of- 
fered to  help  us  afterwards  warned  the  smug- 
glers, telling  them  how  well  we  were  pre|)ared, 
and  that  this  kept  them  from  carrying  out  their 
|)lans. 

The  next  night  a  grand  hall  was  gotten  up  by 
the  ladies  of  Circle  City,  and  our  bedroom  in  the 
custondiouse— being  one  of  the  largest  places 
available— was  selected  as  the  scene  of  the  dance. 
I  was  requested  to  write  the  announcements 
of  the  ball,  which  I  did,  and  stuck  one  up  on 


i!Mi    Tiiiioraii  TJiK  yrh'(L\  aui.i)  dwoings. 


Is  ■  »    4 


it    1 


:i» 


ft; ; 


t'sicli   of   tlio   ('ompunit's'   stores.     Tlicy    ran   as 
follows: 

Social  Danck. 

T/ii')'e  w!/l  he  a  Social  Danck 

ffivtn  hij  the  httlus  of  ClUcLK  Cl'l  Y 

Wed n  end (11/  lU'e.  Auij.  lUth^ 

At  the  renldence  of  Mr.  iieovije  llitxH, 

The  xupphj  of  ice  ct'eitni  hi'outjht  up  on  the 

Arctic  hei/Kj  cehansted^  there  icill   he 

no  collation. 

No  ruhher  hootn  ((lloivt<l  on  thejfoor. 

Do<jK  must  he  tied  with  rihhona  in  the  anteroom. 

After  the  notices  were  posted,  one  of  the  cus- 
toms olficers  came  to  me  in  great  periurbation 
concerning  the  regulation  about  rubber  boots, 
saying  that  such  a  restriction  would  exclude  many 
desirable  and  well-meaning  gentlemen  iio  would 
otherwise  be  able  to  attend. 

The  shavings  were  swept  out  of  the  room  and 
our  beds  and  other  stuff  cleared  out.  "Wax  can- 
dles were  cut  up  and  rubbed  on  the  floor,  and  by 
dusk  everything  was  in  readiness.  One  of  the 
trading  companies  donated  the  candles,  which 
were  stuck  up  around  the  room  to  the  t'xtent 
of   nearly  a  dozen,   and    furnished   a    brilliant 


riiE  miicii  cur.iiK  nuiaisas.  wr, 

illmnination.      Tlie   services   of   ji   i.cK'k-iiuirked 
vjiyiiboiid    wlio    was  oiiiploycd  :in>iin(l  a  saloon 
and  danco-lionso  was  secured  as  directoi' of  the 
all'aii',  and  two  miners  jnst  in  from  the  <^n|(.ln.s 
(they  had  taken  only  one  ciianoe  „f  t.l,>tiies  to 
tlio  digoings   and  had  not  had  time  to  ehan-o 
them   alter   coming   hack    Ijel'ore   going-   to  the 
<lance,  furnisiied  the  orchestra,  piayiii-  very  ac- 
ceptably on  guitar  and  fiddle.     The  n.usic  was 
all   classical, — Ta-ra-ra-hoom-de-ay     <r   the   Irish 
washerwoman     occupying     most    of    tho    time, 
hucii  of  the  players  was  so  enthusiastic  in  iiis  art 
that  he  often  entirely  forgot  his  companion,  and 
would  be  fiddling  away  at  the  closing  spasms  of 
Ta-ra-ra-boom-d<'-ay,  with  perspiring  zeal,  when 
his  more  rapid  partner  had  finished  this  tune  and 
was  merrily  galloping  through 

"  Wuz  .vc  ivcr  inside  of  an  Irislnnan's  sliantv? 
Wi«i  Sill t  an'  pcratics  an'  ivcrvtliiiiK  jtlanty, 
A  thrc»'-lcfrn(.,|  stool  an'  a  lahlc  to  niatcli, 
And  the  door  of  the  slianty  iinl«H'ks  wid  a  hitch  !  " 

The  pock-marked  director  yelled  out  '' Siohuj 
your  [)ardners.  lM</!eH  to  the  left.  Forward 
aiul  back!  Allcmnn  left!  etc.,"  loud  above  the 
squeak  of  the  stringed  instruments.     The  coui)les 


t     ' 


:l 


\ 


i!»H    Tintouan  the  vvkos  cold  uiaaiNos. 

gyrated  in  eccentric  curves  around  in  obedience 
to  the  cries ;  tiie  candles  tlicivered  in  the  draft 
from  the  open  door ;  and  a  row  of  miners  too 
basiiful  to  dance,  or  who  could  find  no  partners, 
sat  on  boxes  close  to  the  wall,  liunehed  up  their 
legs  and  spit  tobacco-juice,  until  the  middle 
of  the  tioor  was  a  sort  of  an  island.  In  short,  it 
Avas  the  most  brilliant  affair  Circle  City  had  ever 
witnessed  ;  even  the  Indians  who  crowded  around 
the  open  door  and  peered  in  over  one  another's 
heads  murmured  in  admii'ation,  and  all  agreed 
that  it  was  a  '^ haioo  time",  which  is  equivalent 
to  saying  a  rip-roaring  time.  This  was  not  the 
first  dance  held  in  the  camp.  The  snudl  but 
powerful  contingent  of  ladies  of  adventure  held 
nightly  dances,  but  this  was  the  first  where  the 
ladies  were  respectable. 

AVe  were  hard  put  to  it  for  finery.  The  dancer 
of  our  party,  having,  as  we  ex})lained  to  him,  to 
bear  in  a  way  the  brunt  of  the  social  duties  for 
us  all,  bought  a  new  pair  of  blue  overalls,  much 
too  large  for  him  ;  these  he  turned  up  at  the  bot- 
tom, and  braced  up  mightily,  so  that  they  cov- 
ered many  shortcomings;  then  he  bought  a 
green   and   yellow   abomination    of    a   necktie. 


\t\ 


THE  niiivii  CREEK  immisafi.  u,.) 

which  liad  boon  (U^si-nod  to  ciitoh  tlio  hoathon 
fancy  of  the  natives,  plastered  his  liair  d„wn, 
and  worried  tiie  tanok-s  out  of  iiis  heard.  Alter 
this  lie  was  the  beau  of  the  evenin-  the  oayest 
of  the  gay,  being  snubbed  by  only  one  won.an, 
and  she  of  doubtful  reputation,  as  we  consolingly 
reminded  him. 

The   men   in  general   wore  the  most  varied 
costumes,  high  boots  being  the  prevailing  stvle, 
though  even  the  rubber  boots   [   had    been  so 
near    forbidding    were   seen;    then   one   might 
notice    the  Indian   moccasins,  and  the  sealskin 
makalok,  which  had  been   br(»ught  up  from  the 
Eskimos   on  the  lower  Yukon.      Flannel   shirts 
without  coat  or  vests  were  the  i-ule,  for  the  night 
was    warm.     Here   and    there  was   a  corduroy 
coat,  or  a  mackinaw  checked  with  red  and  green 
squares  four   inches  across,   but  the  weartM-s  of 
them  suffered   for  their  vanity.     In  striking  and 
almost    ridiculous   contrast    to   this   ])ictures(|ue 
attire  was  the   black  cutaway  suit  and  polished 
shoes  of  the  baker  who  had  just  an-ived  on  a 
Yukon  steamer  fi-om  St.  ^fichael's. 

After  midnight  we  had  cak<^  which  the  ladies 
had  brought  with  them,  and  considering  the  fact 


'  :-k 


I , 


'  II 


hi- 


'j(M»    Til  nova  11  THE  yi'Kox  aou)  DiaaiSiis. 

that  thov  hud  so  little  material  for  cookiiio-,  the 
variety  and  excellence  were  remarkable.  Tnder- 
nejith  the  festive  board  which  covered  tiie  bed 
still  lay  concealed  the  two  kegs  of  whisky 
which  we  liad  watched  over  the  night  before. 
It  was  at  a  late  hour  (to  ado})t  counti'v  newspa- 
per phraseology)  that  the  company  broke  uj), 
loud  in  their  praises  of  the  success  of  the  fete, 
and  returned  to  their  respective  homes.  AVo 
then  rolled  our  blankets  out  upon  the  waxed 
floor,  and  lay  down  for  another  night. 

The  same  dav  a  river  steamer  had  arrived  in 

I.' 

Circle  City  from  the  lower  Yukon,  bringing  our 
trunks  to  us,  which  we  had  sent  around  bv  water 
from  Seattle.  TliesQ  were  well  filled  with  a 
goodly  outfit  for  the  winter,  for  we  had  expected 
that  our  work  would  take  us  two  seasons.  AVe 
had,  luMvever,  gotten  on  twice  as  well  as  we  had 
expected,  and  already  saw  the  end  of  our  task 
ahead,  so  there  was  nothing  to  hinder  us  from 
going  out  this  same  fall.  The  freight  on  our 
three  trunks  from  Seattle  was  one  hundred  and 
eighty  dollars,  and  we  did  not  feel  justified  in 
ex])ending  a  like  sum  to  cari'v  them  back.  We 
therefore  determined  to  sell  our  things,  and  the 


I 


THE  HI  lie  II  CREEK   /)!(;(,  I  \OS. 


301 


(hiy  after  the  pjii'ty  I  wrote  out  notices  iinnoimc- 
inn-  an  auetion  to  be  held  in  the  room  where  we 
lijul  (hi need. 

AVendlinn-  volunteered   to  act   as   auctioneei-, 
provided  he  were  allowed  to  work  in  as  part  of 
our  effects  several  hundred   pounds  of  tobacco 
which  he  had  bron<>ht  up  as  a  speculation.     At 
seven  o'clock  we  started  in,  having  borrowed  a 
l)air  of  gold-scales  for  the  sake  of  transacting  the 
financial  part  of  the  business,  for  almost  the  solo 
currency  of  the  camp  was  gold  dust.     Xot  being 
ourselves  accustomed  to  the  delicate  oi)eration  of 
weighing,  we  persuaded  some  of  the  minei-s  to  do 
it  for  us,  so  that  there  should  Ik;  no  (juestion  as 
to  fairness.     At  eight  the  miners  began  leaving 
and  we  were  told   that  a  miners'  meeting  had 
been  called,  so  we  adjourned  for  an  hour,  and  at- 
tended the  gathering. 

The  miners'  meeting  was  the  sole  legislative, 
judiciary  and  executive  body  in  these  little  re- 
publics. To  settle  any  question  whatever,  any 
one  had  the  right  to  call  such  a  council,  which 
brought  the  issue  to  a  summary  close.  This  one 
was  held  in  the  open  air  close  to  the  river  bank 
in  front  of  tht   Company's  store.     The  miners 


202      THROUGH  THE   YUKON  GOLD  DIGGINGS. 


r  » 


■!■ 


n« 


v: 


!■  ■  i 


llocktMl  together  and  conversed  in  groups.  No- 
l)o(ly  knew  wlio  had  called  the  meeting  or  why; 
hut  presently  some  grew  impatient,  remarking: 
"  Let's  have  the  meeting.  Who's  for  chairman  V  " 

One  man  answered :  "  AVhat's  the  nuitter 
witii  Sandy  Jim  lor  chairman?  Here  he  is,  just 
in  from  the  diggings!     Come  over  here,  Jim  I  " 

"Second  the  motion,  somebody.  Any  body 
object  to  Sandy  Jim  ? "  said  the  first  s})eaker. 
"  Climb  up  on  the  box,  Sandy,  my  boy." 

Sandy  Jim  as  a  slender,  blonde  young  man 
with  quiet  manners,  and  a  style  of  speech  which 
told  of  a  good  education,  lie  mounted  the  box 
in  the  centre  of  the  crowd,  and  having  thus  ob- 
tained a  commanding  position,  he  bagan,  with 
correct  parliamentary  methods,  to  bring  about 
order.  Having  requested  silence,  he  inquired 
who  had  called  the  meeting.  A  num  who  acted 
as  town  clerk  or  some  similar  olHcer  in  the 
miners'  vague  system  of  government,  exi)lained 
that  he  had  issued  the  call,  to  inform  the  miners 
that  some  one  had  settled  upon  a  piece  of  land 
that  had  been  set  aside  for  town  purposes,  and, 
in  s[)ite  of  warnings  to  the  contrary,  Avas  })ro- 
ceeding  to  erect  a  log  house  upon  it ;  and  that 


THE  JilliVJI   CREEK   DHWIXaS. 


'M\ 


tho  tent  temporarily  occupied  hy  the  individual 
mentioned    was   already   pitched   uikmi    the  lot. 
As  an  officer  of  the  camp  he  had   felt  in  duty 
bound  to  call  a  meeting-  and  let  the  bovs  decide 
what  was  to  be  done.     Instantly  there  was  a  rat- 
tle of  contradictoiy  suggestions,  everybody  ad- 
dressing everybody  else,  and  forgetting  to  turn  to 
the  chairman.     Finally  a  tall  man  with  a  heavy 
l>lack  beard  mounted  the  box  and  addressed  the 
meeting,  arguing  coldly  and  Uigicaily  that   the 
person  had  acted  in  defiance  of  the  miners'  meet- 
ing, which  was  the  only  law  tiiey  had ;  and  pro- 
posing that  lie  be  lined,  and  in  case  he  resisted 
further,  put  in  a  boat  and  set  floating  down  the 
Yukon.     There  was  a  general   murmur  of  ap- 
proval, and  the  chairman,  i)utting  the  (juestion  to 
a  v(jte,  found  a  faii-ly  unanimous  verdict  in  favor 
of  the  sj)eaker's  suggestion. 

"  Before  I  appoint  a  committee,"  said  the  chair- 
man, ''the  meeting  should  know  who  the  i)erson 
is  who  has  to  be  dealt  with,  and  I  will  ask  the 
gentlenum  who  called  the  meeting  to  give  the 
information." 

The  clerk  of  the  camp  elbowed  his  way  forward 
a  little.     "  I've  been  trying  to  get  a  word  in  for 


;.'(»!     'niiionni  nn-:  ycKoy  aou)  iniiaiyas. 


M> 


I 

I 


I 


1'' 


m. 


:i  lon^"  tiiiK',"  ho  said.  "  I  don't  think  we  otiglit 
to  be  so  liiird  in  this  case.  Vou  all  know  the 
|)ci'son — it's  J>lac'k  Kitty.  She's  a  woman,  even 
if  she  /.s'  black  and  a  lighter,  and  she's  alone  and 
working  for  a  living.     I  move  we  go  it  easy." 

Amid  another  buzz  the  tall  bearded  man  got 
U|)  and  remarked:  ''That's  dilferent.  1  (h)n't 
think  any  one  wanted  to  quarrel  with  a  woman, 
and  a  bhick  one  at  that."  This  wasonlv  his  wav 
of  expressing  it,  for  he  certainly  did  not  mean 
tJ>at  he  would  rather  liave  (juarrelled  with  a  white 
wonum.  "Anyhow,  there's  plenty  of  land  for 
pul)lie  pur})oses  out  there  in  the  brush,  and  1 
move  an  amendment  that  we  let  Kitty  alone  I  " 

In  deliance  of  all  })arliamentary  usiige,  this 
amendment  was  accej)ted  with  a  chorus  of  a})- 
proval  by  the  crowd,  which,  satisfied  with  itself, 
scattered  almost  befoi'o  the  chairman  could  nudvo 
himself  heard,  sanctioning  and  pi'oclaiming  valid 
the  last  expression  of  opinion. 

Most  of  the  miners  returned  to  our  cal)in, 
where  the  auction  began  again,  and  lasted  till 
twelve  o'clock,  by  which  time  we  had  sold  nearly 
everything  we  cared  to,  at  j)rices  a  little  above 
cost  in  Seattle.     AVendling  also  succeeded  in  dis- 


t 


THE  iiincn  viu:i:k  i)i<;(iL\<is. 


:.'(».■ 


oiMc  iiiinc'i's 


so 


posing-  of  a  liundml  pounds  ol"  his  tol)acc<>,  put- 
tino'  up  lots  I'veiT  now  and  tlion.  S 
expressed  surprise  to  lioss  that  wc  should  use 
niueii  tobaeco,  and  Moss  winked  and  put  iii.' 
iinoer  on  his  nose  and  said,  "  You  don't  I, 
the  inside,  that's  all.  See  tluit  little  fell 
there  ?  "  indieatinu'  mo.  "  Tiiat  little  feller  el 
a  pound  a  day.  Yes,  sir !  lie  eats  it 
time! 
Tl 
dust 


now 


er  ov«'r 


lews 


sonie- 


?» 


•••o 


Id 


1   we 


le  next  morning  we  weighed  out  our 
and  found  it  some  twenty-live  dollars  more 
than  we  had  any  record  of,  from  wliiel 
inferred  that  the  miners  who  had  so  kindly 
supei'intended  the  weighing  of  the  various  sums 
])ai(l  in  had  been  a  little  generous,  and  al- 
ways given  full  weight.  When  we  got  to  S, 
Franr'iseo,  and   presented  our  gold  dust  at  tl 


111 


mint,    where    it 


was    weighed    accurat(>!' 


le 


we 


received  several  dolhu-s 
it  fi 


e 


'om  ( 


Yu 


moi-e  for  it  than  we  mad 
)ur  final  weighing  ;  so  it  appears  that  the 
kon    miner's   currency  is   none   of   the   most 

ni'ound   cam|),  of 
ee[)ers   who    panned    the    sawdust    on    tl 


accui-ate.     Stories    were    told 
barli 


leir 


flooi'  and   made  aood 


w 


ages  at   it ;   and  it  \\i\) 


alleged    that  one  had  a  strip  of  carpet  on   his 


li 


m 


8i  s 

¥  1 


1    I   K 


J!  ■' 


''W 


2(M> 


THROUGH  THE   YUKON  GOLD  DlUGLSGS. 


counter,  into  which  ho  let  fall  a  trifle  of  gold 
(lust  every  time  he  took  a  pinch  for  a  drink  of 
whisky,  and  at  the  end  of  the  day,  by  taking  up 
his  cari)et  and  shaking  it,  he  had  a  nice  little  sum 
over  his  day's  earnings. 


CHAPTER  YII. 

THE   MYNOOK   CHKKK    l)I(;(irxrj.s. 

npiIE  next  (lay,  the  21st  of  Aun-ust,  u'e  loaded 
up  the  Skookuiii  a/^r-tin,  and  droi)i)ed  away 
from  Circle  City  with  the  current.     The  cus- 
toms officers  were  short  of  rice,  but  they  sent  a 
pair  of  old  slippers  flying  after  us  as  we  moved 
away ;  and  several  of  the  ladies  who  had  been  at 
the  dance  stood  on  the  bank  and  waved  us  adieu. 
Soon  the  river  broadened  out,  with  many  chan- 
nels flowing  amid  a  maze  of  low  wooded  islands. 
This   was    the   beginning  of   the  great    Yukon 
Flats,  which  stretch  in  dreary  monotony  for  so 
many  miles  below  Circle  City. 

The  wind  blew  strong,  with  gusts  of  rain,  in 
the  morning,  and  increased  to  a  gale  which  lasted 
nearly  all  day.  The  proper  channel  was  difficult 
to  determine,  and  we  were  often  sucked  into 
some  ^  little  channel  or  slough  (pronounced 
"  sloo  " ),  only  to  find  our  way  back  again,  after 
a  long  circuit,  to  the  larger  body  of  water,  at  a 

207 


tiOH      TlinoraH    THE    YUKON   (SOLD   DKidlSUS. 


,;  ,i'' 


I  -■: 


place  near  wlierc!  we  had  left  it.  >i'o  hills  were 
visible  in  any  direction — nothing  but  the  waste  of 
waters,  thesandspits,  and  the  level  wooded  islands 
and  banks.  At  night  we  reached  Fort  Yukon,  a 
trading  post,  which  is  situated  at  tlie  junction  of 
the  Porcupine  with  the  Yukon  ;  we  had  made  the 
distance  from  (.'ircle  City,  estimated  at  about 
eigiity  miles,  in  sixteen  hours.  So  bewildering 
are  the  vai'ious  channels  here  that  one  would 
hardly  susjjcct  that  any  stream  entered  the 
Y'ukon,  and  the  current  is  so  varied  and  shiggish 
that  one  might  easily  attempt  to  ascend  the 
Porcujnne,  having  the  impression  that  he  was 
still  descending  the  Yukon — a  delusion  that  would 
be  dis})elled  after  the  lirst  few  miles. 

Like  other  so-called  "  Forts  "  in  the  Alaskan 
country.  Fort  Yukon  was  simply  a  rough  log 
building  inhabited  by  one  white  man,  who  had 
a  scanty  stock  of  very  poor  provisions,  such  as 
flour  and  tea,  to  exchange  for  skins  with  the 
natives.  Around  the  building  the  Indians  had 
made  their  camp,  as  usual,  a  trading-post  being 
alwavs  the  nucleus  of  a  dirtv  and  foul-smelling 
congregation  of  natives.  From  one  Indian  we 
bought  a  whitelish,  and  on  his  i)resenting  it  to  us 


THE  MYS'OOK   CHEKK  DimnSdS. 


:.>()!• 


whole,  we  motioned  liim  to  clean  it ;  lie  did  so, 
layinjLj  the  entniils  carefully  on  a  board.      Ho 
wished   ten  in  exchange  for  it,  and   not  being 
experienced  in  native  trading,  we  ga\'e  him  what 
we  afterwards  learned  was  ten  oi-  twelve  times 
the  usual  price.     We  had  the  best  English  break- 
fast tea,  and  he  was  at  lirst  doubtful  at  this,  hav- 
ing seen  only  the  cheap  black  tea  always  sold  to 
the   natives;   but   he  was  vastly  pleased  at  the 
quantity,  and,  laughing  delightedly,  proceeded  to 
"treat"  his  friends  on  the  occasion  of  his  good 
fortune,  by  handing  around  the  raw  entrails  of 
the   fish,  which   they  divided   and   ate  without 
further  ceremony. 

Not  liking  to  sleep  within  reach  of  the  Indian 
dogs,  who  are  very  dangerous  enemies  to  one's 
bacon,  wo  dropped  down  the  river  half  a  mile 
below  the  post  and  made  camp  in  a  spruce  grove— 
a  beautiful  spot,  cool,  and  free  from  mosquitoes. 
The  next  day  we  were  still  in  the  flats.    There 
was  a  high  wind  blowing  and  the  sky  was  spot- 
led  with  curious  clouds.     Some  were  like  cauli- 
flowers in  form  ;  others  were  funnel-shaped  ;  and 
still  others  were  dark,  with  long  black  tentacles 
of  rain.     Whenever  these  tentacles  passed  over 


!:,;■  ',.  '» 


•JlO      TIIROVal!   THE   YUKON  COLD   I)l(i(ilX(,S. 

the  river  in  a  direction  ngainst  the  current,  an 
ugly  chop  sea  was  tiie  result,  and  our  hout,  stout 
dory  though  she  was,  shij)ped  watei-  in  some  of 
these  i)laces. 

Floating  down  through  the  network  of  chan- 
nels we  suddenly  ran  hard  upon  a  sand-har, 
and  it  took  a  couple  of  hours'  work  to  get  us 
off,  for  as  soon  as  we  were  lodged  the  sand 
which  the  Yukon  waters  carry  began  settling 
round  the  boat  and  banking  it  in,  nudving 
it  the  hardest  work  imaginable  to  move  it. 
While  we  were  tugging  and  groaning  in  our 
efforts,  a  steamer — the  Arctic — came  down  the 
river  behind  us,  and  being  steered  by  experienced 
Indian  pilots,  struck  the  I'ight  channel  only  a 
short  distance  from  us  and  floated  past  trium- 
phantly. The  deck  was  swarming  with  miners 
who  were  bound  for  St.  Michael's,  and  they  made 
many  jocose  remarks  at  our  expense,  offering  to 
take  word  to  our  friends,  and  do  other  favors 
for  us.  We  said  nothing,  though  we  fumed  in- 
wardly. Finally  we  succeeded  in  getting  free, 
and  floated  off.  Some  time  afterwards  we  saw 
behind  us  what  appeared  to  be  the  smoke  of  an- 
other steamer ;  but  when  we  stopped  for  lunch 


fiii 


rilE  MYNOOK  CREEK  l)l(,'(.'L\aS.  ail 

the  craft  cauglit  up  witli  us,  and  proved  to  be  an 
ordinary  open  boat  like  our  own,  but  witli  a 
Yukon  stove  made  of  sheet  iron  set  uj)  in  it, 
whereon  the  solitary  passenger  cooked  histlinner 
while  he  floated. 

In  the  afternoon  we  caught  sight  of  a  bona 
fide  steamer  ahead  of  us,  and  as  we  came  stead- 
ily closer,  it  seemed  as  if  she  must  be  stopping; 
soon  we  recognized  the  Arctic,  and  saw  that  the 
crew  and  all  the  passengers  were  laboring  ex- 
citedly in  many  ways,  trying  to  get  the  boat  otf 
the  sand-b'.r  on  which  she  was  stuck.     We  ran 
close  by  her,  for  there  was  water  enough  for  our 
little  boat,  although  the  rapid  deposit  from  the 
river  had  built  up  a  bank  to  the  surface  of  the 
water  on  one  side  of  the  steamer.     We  were 
sorry  for  these  men,  who  were  in  a  hurry  to  get 
to  St.  Michael's,  and  so  on  home ;  at  the  same 
time  we  could  not  resist  the  temptation  to  return 
to  them  their  greetings   of  the  morning,  and 
offer  to  take  letters  to  their  friends.     They  did 
not  seem  to  be  so  much  anmsed  at  the  joke  as 
they  had  been  in  the  morning— probably  because 
they  had  hoard  it  before. 
We  were  several  days  floating  through  this 


f 


li 

il 


:it 


1 1    1 


1 .0- 


m 


i'i 


if 


H< 


2I-J      TlIROnill  THE   i'CKOX  (iOLI)  Djaujyds. 

monotonous  part  of  tlie  rivor.  There  ';vere  al- 
ways the  same  banks  of  silt,  from  which  ])ortions, 
undercut  by  the  current,  were  continually  crasli- 
in<^'  into  the  sti'eam ;  these  were  immediately 
taken  up  and  hurried  along-  by  the  cun-ent  to 
form  part  of  the  vast  deposit  of  mud  which  the 
Yukon  has  built  up  at  its  mouth,  and  which  has 
lilled  up  the  IJehi'ing  sea  until  it  is  shallow  and 
dangerous.  On  the  higher  banks,  which  were 
forty  feet  o"  so  above  the  I'iver  (it  was  then  low 
water),  spruce  and  other  trees  were  growing,  and 
as  the  soil  which  bore  them  was  undercut,  they 
too  dropped  into  the  river  and  started  on  their 
long  journey  to  the  sea.  Along  the  vast  tuiulra 
at  the  Yukon  mouth,  and  the  treeless  shores  of 
the  IVhring  sea,  the  natives  depend  entirely  upcm 
these  wandered  trees  for  their  fuel.  The  (piantity 
brought  down  every  year  is  enormous,  for  the 
stream  is  continuallv  working  its  wav  sidewise, 
and  cutting  out  fresh  ground. 

Everywhere  we  noticed  the  elfects  of  the  ice 
which  comes  grinding  down  the  river  in  the 
sjn'ing.  The  trees  had  been  gii'dled  by  the  ice 
and  wei-e  dying,  the  undei'brush  cut  down,  the 
earth    plowed    up,   and  occasionally  there  were 


1%. 


77//;   MiWOOK   CliKEK  J)l(i<; l.\<!S. 


m:5 


piles   of   |)el»l)los    wliciv   a    <ir(»iiiul('(l    cake    had 
melted  and  deposited  its  Imrden. 

We  used  to  camp  on  the  j^i-avel  hars  mostly.  t<> 
avoid  the  mos(|iiitoes  ;  hut  evei'v  now  and  then  a 
ni^ht  was  cool  and  even  IVostv,  and  the  mos(jui 


-^J....-^^'  ..'.^laiii^ 

-  -« 

pl 

2»"sryT-'^'  ,■■'•  •«■'•.;■■■-'.•••  •■•.;. 

it 

.>3 

-.iv?:., /f^->-.,. 

'■            •    '      -                      .         '    v«^ 

..v^yr-^^m^'^;. ' .-     ^ 

M 

W^m 

'in;      ,>Ui;.\l<-l  I'   Ol'    TlIK    IcIO   ON    TlIK    Yl  KON. 

toes  au('  i^iiats,  after  stai'tin*;'  in  their  assault, 
were  j^radually  nundx'd,  and  their  l)U//.in<;' ^I'ew 
fainterand  fainter  till  it  disappeared.  When  w«' 
felt  such  niiilits  comiui;'  on,  we  camped  in  the 
spvuc(^  proves  on  the  higher  hanks,  huilt  i'oarin<;' 
lifes  and  sat    l)\'  tlu-m  eomfoi'tal»l\'  ami  sumUed, 


214      THROUGH  THE   YUKON  GOLD  DIGGINGS. 


,1* 


\ 


'I 


i.    ( 


looking  out  on  the  smooth  river  with  the  dark 
even  fringe  of  trees  between  it  and  the  sky  with 
its  snapping  stars ;  and  for  the  first  time  on  our 
trip  we  began  to  have  some  of  the  })leasures 
wliich  usually  come  to  the  camper-out. 

We  passed  Indian  hunting  and  fishing  camps 
occasionally,  and  once  a  solitary  white  man  en- 
gaged in  cutting  wood  for  the  river  steamers. 
The  natives  seemed  always  to  have  plenty  to  eat, 
and  we  frequently  obtained  from  them,  fish, 
duck,  moose,  antl  berries.  As  we  passed  a  camp 
the  inhabitants  would  put  out  in  their  tiny  birch- 
bark  canoes,  if  we  did  not  stop;  and,  overtaking 
us  with  ease,  would  hold  up  for  purchase  such 
articles  as  they  had.  The  berries  were  in  native 
dishes  of  hewn  wood,  or  of  birch-bark  tied  with 
wooden  thongs,  and  were  so  quaint  that  we  took 
them  home  as  curiosities. 

After  several  days  in  the  Flats,  w*.'  saw — 
when  the  clouds  lifted  after  a  prolonged  rain- 
storm— that  the  course  of  the  river  was  ap- 
parently barred  by  low  mountains,  level-toi)ped, 
with  occasional  higher  peaks  rising  above  the 
general  level,  but  all  with  smooth  and  rounded 
outlines.     As  we  drew  nearer  we  saw  a  narrow 


THE  Mi'NOOK  CHEEK  niaOINGS.  215 

valley  cutting  through  the  mountains,  and  into 
this   tlie   river  ran.     Just   before   entering,    we 
found  a  trading  post,  Fort  Hamlin  by  name,  and 
from  the  trader,  Avho  was  the  only  white  man 
here,  we  each  bought  a  pair  of  Eskimo  water- 
boots,  made  of  the  skin  of  the  makalok  or  hair 
seal,  soaked  in  oil.     We  had  long  ago  worn  out 
the   most  of  our  civilized  foot-gear,  and   were 
obliged  to  adopt  the  native  styles.    These  Eskimo 
boots  often  have  soles  of  walrus,  and  yet  they 
are  too  thin  for  walking  over  stones,  so  they  are 
made  very  large,  and  dried  grass  is  put  into  the 
bottom ;  the  foot,  too,  is   wrapped  in  as  many 
thicknesses  of  cloth  or  skins  as  possible,  and  thus 
is  protected  against  bruises  and  against  the  cold 
of  the  severest  winter  weather. 

Leaving  Fort  Hamlin,  we  floated  down  through 
picturesque  hills,  on  the  sides  of  which  the  bircli 
was  beginning  to  yellow.     Another  day  brought 
us  to  Mynook  Creek,  of  which  we  had  hearcfat 
Circle  City  as  likely  to  be  a  good  gold  i)roducer. 
At  the  mouth  of  the  ci'eek  wo  found  the  tempo- 
rary camps  of  a  few  prospectors,  who  were  on 
their  way  up  to  stake  out  claims.     There  were 
also  numerous  Indians  encamped  in  the  vicinity— 


■  •  I 


t 


ifl 


:  ( 


31(i      TUROUail   THE   Yi'KOS  CiOLI)  DKldlNdS. 

true  savages,  witli  very  few  Avords  of  English 
ainoiig  them,  "yes"  "no"  and  ''steamboat" 
making  u[)  ahnost  their  entire  vocabiiiaiT. 

A  sort  of  chief  among  them  was  a  My  nook,  a 
lialf-breed  with  more  Indian  than  wiiite  in  his  fea- 
tures. It  was  after  him  that  the  creek  had  been 
named  (or  rather  renamed,  for  it  had  formerly 
been  known  as  the  Klanakakat  or  Klamichargut, 
the  nativ^e  name) ;  he  had  been  the  lirst  to  discovei* 
gold,  and  was  engaged  in  working  a  claim  with 
a  crew  of  natives,  notwithstanding  the  fact  that 
Indians  have,  according  to  our  somewhat  })eculiar 
laws,  no  legal  right  to  stake  mines.  lie  was  a 
good-looking  fellow  with  a  fair  knowledge  of 
English,  which  he  was  very  proud  to  air, 
esj)ecially  tiie  "cuss-words,"  which  he  introduced 
into  conversati<m  very  gravely  and  irrelevantly. 
lie  said  when  he  got  dust  enough  he  was  going 
to  "  San  Francisco,"  that  being  to  him  a  general 
name  for  the  world  of  the  white  men.  lie  had 
always  hired  natives  to  work  his  claims,  although 
he  admitted  that  they  did  not  work  nearly  as 
well  as  white  people;  they  would  labor  only 
until  thev  had  a  little  monev  ahead,  and  then 
would   (juit  until   it  was  all   spent,  although   it 


f! 


THE  MY  NOOK   CHEEK   I)IU(UNGS. 


217 


mi^^ht  bo  the  very  busiest  season;  and  if  pcr- 
clianco  a  steanil)oat  was  rei)<)rte(l  on  tin;  river, 
the  gang  to  u  man  would  drop  pick  and  shovel 
and  trot  down  the  trail  to  the  mouth  of  tiie 
creek,  there  to  stand  open-eyed  and  open- 
mouthed,  gazing  at  the  smoking  monster  wliicli 
held  them  with  a  fascination  strojiger  than  even 
J\Iy nook's  disi)leasure. 

We  cami)e(l  on  the  beach,  and  made  prepara- 
tions the  next  morning  to  visit  the  digoin<>s.  AVe 
sepai'ated,  as  usual,  each  taking  a  different  route, 
and  each  hiring  an  Indian  to  accompany  him  and 
carry  his  pack.     The  lirst  Indian  I  hired  had  on 
a  new  gingham  jumper,  and  a  sly  smile  which 
gave  an  impi-ession  that  his  subsequent  actions 
did    not    belie.     He    wanted   to    be   i)aid  before 
starting,  and  when  this   was  i-efused  said  he  was 
hungry,  and  was  so  weak  that  he  could  not  walk 
without  food.     So  we  administered  to  him  a  sid)- 
stantial    breakfast,  after   which  he   disappeared 
and  never  could  be  found  again.     So<m  another 
Indian  i)resente(l  himself— a  particularly  wicked 
lo(jking  fellow,  with  i-ed   i)ulging  eyes  that  gave 
one  a  sort  of  shiver   t(.  look  at  him.     lie  wanted 
to  go  with  me,  and  I  hired  him,  having  no  other 


\i 


,1* 

I 


1)1 1 


Mil 

.1    r''l 


I 


H' 


i' 


i  '» 


U 


218      TIIliOVUH  THE   YUKON  GOLD  DKJGINOS. 

clioice.  Then  he  too  explained  by  j^estures,  that 
he  was  starving  and  must  have  some  breakfast  to 
keep  him  strong  on  his  kmg  walk ;  whereupon  I 
explained,  also  bv  gestures,  that  the  lirst  Indian 
had  gotten  the  second  Indian's  breakfast  alread}'^, 
and  that,  having  delivered  the  breakfast,  the  rest 
was  no  affair  of  mine  (I  having  carried  out  my 
share  of  the  transaction  as  was  fitting),  so  that 
the  only  possible  subject  for  discussion  lay  be- 
tween him  and  the  first  Indian. 

He  seemed  to  be  impressed  with  the  logic  of 
this,  shouldered  his  pack  and  trotted  off  meekly 
enough.  As  we  started,  the  smoke  of  a  steam- 
boat became  visible  down  the  river ;  the  natives 
raised  the  excited  cry  of  "  shteemboot"  and  mv 
guide  showed  signs  of  sitting  down  to  wait  for 
it  to  come  and  go  before  he  shouhl  proceed  wit)' 
his  journey.  However,  a  few  studiously  stern 
looks,  accom])anied  by  prodding  in  his  ribs  with 
a  stick,  started  him  along  the  trail,  to  which  he 
kept  faithfully  after  that.  This  led  through  a 
thick  growth  of  alder  brush,  across  brooks,  but 
always  kept  in  the  valley  of  the  main  stream, 
on  each  side  of  which  were  hills  with  the  bare 
rocks  peering  from  among  the  yellowing  foliage. 


THE  MVNOOK  CREEK  DKIGINGS. 


219 


After  three  hours'  tramp,  we  turned  up  a  little 
side  valley,  and  soon  came  upon  a  claim  that  was 
being  worked  by  a  number  of  miners.  This  was 
the  only  active  one  on  this  creek,  and  with  the 
exception  of  Mynook's  claim  on  another  small 
branch,  thd  only  one  being  exi)l(jited  on  lilynook 
Creek  as  a  whole.  Several  other  men,  however, 
had  staked  claims  and  were  engaged  in  buildin"- 
log  cabins,  preparatory  to  the  winter's  pro- 
specting. 

Here  I  dismissed  my  Indian,  telling  him  by 
signs   to   come    back    again   on   the   next  day. 
During   the   two   days   he  and   I  were  out  to- 
gether, we  did  not  utter  an  articulate  sound  in 
trying  to   communicate   with   one  another.     It 
Avas  of  no  use,  for  he  could  not  understand  the 
English  any  better  than  I  Yukon.     So  in  this 
case   I  looked  at  him  fixedly  and  silently,  and 
pointed   to  the  miner's  cabin,  laid  my  head  on 
my  hand  and  shut  my  eyes,  signifying  that  I 
intended  to  sleep  there.     Then  with  my  finger  I 
followed  in  the  sky  the  course  the  sun  would  take 
on  the  following  day,  halting  at  a  point  midway 
in  the  afternoon  ;  then,  pointing  to  him,  I  imitated 
the  motion  of  a  man  carrying  a  pack,  and  with  a 


f 


2-j()  Tiinouaii  THE  yukon  gold  dhhusgh. 


I  .'I 

i 


11 

■  \ 


1 1 

I'  ''  < 


rapid  movement  of  the  linger  imlicated  tlio  trail 
back  to  the  mouth  of  the  creek :  liiiallv  with  a 
comprehensive  gesture  I  gave  him  to  understand 
tluit  lie  might  do  as  he  pleased  in  the  meantime. 
He  disapi)eared  immediately,  coming  hack  at 
night  to  beg  for  food  from  my  hosts;  failing  in 
that,  he  bivouacked  at  a  cam[)-lire,  with  a  few 
other  Indians  who  were  working  on  the  creek,  in 
front  of  the  miner's  log  cabin,  and  before  we 
Avere  up  in  the  morning  had  (lisai)peared  again. 
At  exactly  the  appointed  time  the  n(;xt  day, 
liowever,  he  returned,  ready  for  the  harness,  as 
red-eyed,  dumb  and  vicious-looking  as  ever. 

The  sign  language  of  all  these  Yukon  Indians 
is  wonderfully  clever ;  it  is  also  very  comi)licated, 
and  I  have  seen  two  natives  conversing  fluently 
behind  a  trader's  back,  using  their  faces  and 
hands  in  rapid  movements  which,  however,  con- 
veyed no  idea  to  the  uninitiated  observer  as  to 
their  meaning.  Some  of  their  signs  which  I 
have  understood  are  renuirkable  for  the  clever 
selection  of  a  distinguishing  characteristic  to  des- 
ignate a  given  object.  For  examj)le,  a  white 
man  was  expressed  by  stroking  the  chin  as  if  it 
were  bearded.     In  this  wild  country  razors  were 


>m*'B*^°l"S 


THE  MYSOOK   VKEEK   DlGUIXaS. 


'i'}\ 


unknown  and  even  scissors  ii  rarity,  so  that  all 
white  men  wore  thick  and  usually  bushy  beards, 
while  the  natives  had  very  little  or  no  hair  on 
their  faces.  Since  I  wore  si)ectacles,  1  was  de- 
scribed in  sign  language  iirst  by  a  gesture  of 
stroking  the  beard,  which  indicated  that  1  was  a 
white  man,  and  then  by  bending  the  thumb  and 
forefinger  in  a  circle,  and  peering  through  this 
circle,  thereby  sulKciently  identifying  me  among 
others. 

At  the  cabin  where  I  spent  the  night  was  a 
man    who   had    been   on    the   exploring  expedi- 
tion   of    Lieutenant   Allen   some  years   befoi-e, 
when     that    young    officer    accomplished    such 
a  si)Ien(li(I  journey  under  such  great  difficulties, 
tlirough  a  barren  and  unknown  countrv,  ascend- 
ing   the  Copper  liiver,  descending  the  Tanana, 
exploring   the    Koyukuk,  and    finally  returning 
to   St.   Michael's   by    way  of  the    Yukon.      On 
learning    that   I    was  in   the  government  serv- 
ice, this  man  insisted  on  my  becoming  his  guest. 
lie  slept  and  ate  in  a  little  log  cabin  of  his  own, 
where  he  had  a  bed  built  of  hewn  wood,  which 
was   pretty    exactly    i)roportioned    to    his   own 
length  and  breadth.     By  a  little  careful  manipu- 


ft'"- 


■  ., 


■*") 


A» 


222      TlUlOUUn  THE   YUKON  GOLD  DWUlNLilS. 

lation,  however,  we  both  managed  to  stretch  out 
on  it  and  as  the  night  was  frosty  and  our  cover- 
ing none  of  the  thickest,  neither  of  us  objected 
to  the  proximity  of  the  other,  although  we  were 
so  crowded  tiuit  when  one  turned  over  the  other 
had  to  do  so  at  the  same  time.  In  the  morning 
my  "  pardner,"  as  he  might  fitly  be  called,  had  a 
savory  breakfast  well  under  way  when  I  opened 
my  eyes. 

After  our  meal  my  host  went  to  his  work, 
while  I  undertook  a  journey  a  little  further  up 
the  main  stream  to  a  tributary  gulch.  Here  one 
man  was  engaged  in  prospecting — Oliver  Miller, 
one  of  the  renuirkable  prospectors  of  early  Alas- 
kan times,  lie  had  been  in  this  region  many 
years  already,  always  prospecting,  often  lucky  in 
finding,  but  never  resting  or  stopping  to  read 
the  benefits  of  his  discoveries,  and  always  ])ush- 
ing  restlessly  onwards  towards  new  and  unex- 
plored lields.  In  the  early  eighties  he  had  been 
among  the  first  who  had  come  to  the  Forty  Mile 
district  from  Stewart  River  and  the  other  afflu- 
ents of  the  Yukon  above  the  international  bound- 
ary, lie  discovered  the  creek  still  known  by 
his  name — Miller  Creek, — which  reallv  lies  at 


THE  MYNOOK  VKEEK  DKidlSHS. 


)i'2\\ 


the  headwaters  of  Sixty  Mile  Creelv,  l.ut  is  sepa- 
rated only  by  a  low  dividino-  ndoo  from  the 
gold-producing  gulches  at  the  head  of  Forty  iMile 
Creek,  and  is  therefore  usually  reckoned  as  a 
part  of  the  Forty  Mile  district. 

Miller  Creek  was  one  of  the  richest  creeks  in 
the  district  and  was  soon  staked  out  by  eager 
prospectors ;  but  Miller  himself  got  restless,  and 
saying  the  place  was  getting  too  crowded  for 
him,  sold  his  claim  one  day  for  what  he  could 
get,  and  investing  the  amount  in  "  grub  "  and  out- 
lit,  started  out  over  the  hills  alone,  prospecting. 
In  the  13irch  (Jreek  district,  which  was  discoveretl 
later,  he  found  gold  agjiin,  but  as  soon  as  miners 
came  in  he  sold  out  and  went  further.     Now 
after  many  wanderings  he  was  in  Mynook  Creek, 
and  it  was  characteristic  of  the  man  that  instead 
of  being  industriously  engaged  in  wasliing  gold 
in    one    of    the   already   ])rospeoted   tributaries 
nearer   the    Yukon,  he   had   vanished   into   the 
brush,  out  of  reach  of  tiie  sound  of  pick  and 
shovel,  and   was  nosing  around  among  the  rocks 
and  i)anning  gi-avcl. 

According  to  directions,  I  left  the  trail,  which 
indeed  ran  no  further,  and  folio \ved  the  bank  of 


[%\ 


i      I 


2,»l    TJIIiUUall   THE   YUKOS  HOLD  DIUGhSU^. 


It 


if  i 


k 


4   > 


I:  ;    .' 


the  main  stream,  working  my  way  thruuyli  tlic 
brusii,  till  1  came  to  a  little  brooic,  then  went  up 
al()n<,^  tiiis  nearly  to  where  it  emerged  from  a 
rocky  gorge  in  the  hills.  At  this  point  I  came 
upon  a  grassy  nook  under  the  birches,  wiiere  a 
lire  was  smouldering;  and  under  a  tree  a  man's 
heavy  blankets  were  spread  on  a  bed  of  green 
bouglis,  as  if  he  iiad  just  stej)})ed  out.  A  coui)ie 
of  kettles  were  standing  near  tiie  tire,  and  a  coat 
was  lying  on  the  ground,  while  an  axe  was  stick- 
ing in  the  tree  above  the  blankets.  There  was 
no  tent  or  any  superfluities  whatever,  and  it  was 
evident  that  this  camping  outlit  was  one  of  those 
Avhich  a  man  may  take  on  his  back  and  wander 
over  hill  and  dale  with.  Not  hearing  or  seeing 
any  sign  of  life,  I  sat  down  and  waited,  but  no 
one  appearing  after  half  an  hour,  I  began  follow- 
ing a  man's  trail  from  the  camp  up  the  gorge, 
tracing  him  by  the  bent  grass  and  broken  twigs. 
After  having  gone  a  short  distance,  I  heard  the 
thumping  of  a  pick  on  a  rocky  wall  ij^  front  and 
above  me,  and  gave  a  hail.  The  i)rospeitor  came 
down  very  slowly,  his  manner  not  ix-ing  so  much 
that  of  a  man  who  was  sorry  to  see  one — on  the 
contrary,  he  was  pleasant   and  cordial — as  that 


THE  MYNOOK  CREEK  DlCdlXnS.  005 

of  one  who  is  reluctantly  dra^^ged  away  from  a 
favorite  employment.  We  went  hack  to  liis 
camj)  under  the  birches  and  as  it  was  now  noon 
he  invited  me  to  dinner  with  him. 

It  was  a  sunny  day,  and  the  grass  was  warm 
and  brigjit,  with  the  shadowof  the  delicate  leaves 
falling  upon  it;  the  mosquitoes  had  disappeared 
in  this  period  of  frosty  nights  and  chilly  days,  so 
that  the  sylvan  camp  was  ideal.     Some  boiled 
beans,  boiled  dried  apples,  and  bread,  baked  be- 
fore an  open  fire,  constituted  the  meal ;  yet  I  i-e- 
member  to  this  day  the  flavor  of  each  article,  so 
delicious   they  api)eared   to   my  sharj)  appetite. 
IMiller  was  embarrassed  somewhat  about  dishes. 
He  had  by  good  luck  two  kettle  covers,  which 
served  as  i)lates  for  us,  and  he  was,  he  ex|)lained, 
in  the  habit  of  using  his  sheath-knife  to  manage 
the  rest,  for  he  had  neither  table-knife,  fork,  nor 
spoon.     I  produced  my  own  sheath-knife  and  as- 
sured him  that  I  was  born  with  it  in  my  mouth, 
so  to  speak,  and  we  set  to  eating  cheerfully. 

For  a  professional  recluse,  I  found  Miller 
very  cordial  and  comnmnicative.  lie  travelled 
alone,  he  told  me,  not  because  he  would  not 
have  been  glad  of  company,  but  because  it  was 


•    ! 


i 


i,  1' 
( 


It 


I  1 


;   1:1 


1  iv-i'-      P. 


226    THROUGH  THE   YUKON  GOLD   DIGGINGS. 

hard  to  lind  any  one  to  go  with  him,  and  almost 
impossible  that  two  "pardners,"  even  when  at 
first  agreeable,  should  remain  very  long  without 
quarrelling ;  so  he  had  decided,  as  the  sim[)lest 
solution,  to  carry  out  his  ideas  alone.  lie  was 
in  the  habit  of  exploring  the  most  remote  i)arts 
of  the  territory,  searching  for  minerals,  lie  had 
tramped  over  the  mountains  between  the  Yukon 
and  the  Tanana,  back  and  forth  ;  and  had  been 
a  thousand  miles  up  the  Koyukuk,  to  Avhere  it 
headed  in  a  high  range,  climbing  which,  he  had 
looked  out  upon  the  Arctic  ocean.  On  return- 
ing down  the  river,  he  had  been  knocked  out  of 
his  boat  by  a  "sweeper"  (a  log  which  extends 
out  from  a  bank  over  a  stream,  two  or  thn^e 
feet  above  the  water).  The  current  was  so 
rapid  where  he  met  with  the  accident  that  when 
he  rose  to  the  sui-face  his  boat  was  some  dis- 
tance ahead  of  him.  He  struck  out  swi'nming 
to  catch  up  with  it,  but,  as  if  animated  with  a 
perverse  living  spirit,  the  boat  moved  otf  on  a 
swifter  current  toward  the  centre  of  the  river. 
Soon  he  was  in  danger  of  being  benumbed  in 
the  icy  water,  and  he  was  exhausted  from  his 
ell'orts,  yet  he  knew  if  he  should  swim  to  the 


'il 


THE  MYNOOK  CREEK  DIGGINGS. 


227 


banks  arul  lose  liis  boat  he  would  eventually  i)er- 
ish  in  the  wilderness,  without  resource  and  hun- 
dreds of  miles  from  the  nearest  human  bein^r. 
So  he  swam  desperately,  and  when  on  the  point 
of  giving  up  and  sinking,  a  check  in  the  current 
ahead  slackened  tlie  speed  of  the  boat  so  that  by 
an  effort  he  was  able  to  reach  it  and  grasp  the 
gunwale.      J3ut    it    was   some    time    before   he 
gathered  strength  enough  to  pull  himself  aboard. 
The   history  of  the   prosi)ectors   in   any  new 
country,  especially  in  Alaska,  would  be  a  record 
of  intensely   interesting    pioneering.      Unfortu- 
nately these  men  leave  no  record,  and  their  hard- 
ships,  lonely  exploring  tours  and  daring  deeds, 
performed  with  a  heroism  so  simple  that  it  seems 
almost  comical,  have  no  chronicler.     Tliey  pjme- 
trate  the  deserts,  they  climb  the  mountains,  they 
ascend  the  streams,  tiiey  dare  with  tiie  crudest 
preparation  tJK;  severest  danger  of  nature.     Some 
of  them  die,  others  return  to  civilization  and  be- 
come sailors  or  '  j^r-conductors,  or  janitors  ;  but 
they  are  of  ilje  stuff  that  keeps  the  natio.^  alive. 
Jiy  that  I  do  not  mean  the  false  or  imits.lim 
prospector,  who  has  no  courage  or  patience,  but 
only   the    greed    of    gold.     Thousands    of   such 


* 


2'28    TIIROUUH  THE   YUKON  GOLD  DIGGINaS. 


n* 


ill 


/'I 

1 


If 


Hi 


r:.i 


1' 

i 


poured  into  Alaska  after  the  Klondike  boom,  and 
many  of  them  turned  back  at  the  first  si^ht  of 
(Uiilkoot  Pass,  which  is  nothing  to  frighten  a 
strong  bo}'^  of  twelve.  Many  more  got  enough 
of  Alaska  in  floating  down  the  Yukon,  an'l  kej)t 
on  straight  to  St.  Michael's,  scarcely  stop])ing  in 
any  of  the  mining  regions ;  thereby  beneiiting 
the  transportation  companies  greatly,  and  add- 
ing much  to  the  territory's  sudden  a})parent 
])ros])erity.  But  Ijefore  the  Klondike  rush  nearly 
all  the  Alaskans  were  of  the  hard}'  true  pioneer 
tyjie  I  Avrite  about. 

In  the  afternoon  I  returned,  and  finding  my  In- 
dian ])unctually  on  hand  at  the  a})pointed  time, 
we  went  back  to  the  Yukon  together. 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

THE   LOWER   YUKON. 

•yilE  next  day  we  broke  camp,  and  floating 
down   the    river,   soon   entered   the   main 
range  of  the  Ham  part  Mountains.     Tliey  were 
not  high,  but  picturesque,  and  the  lower  parts 
and  the  valleys  were  gay  with  green  and  gold. 
It  was  a  perfect  day,  cool  and  clear.    We  stopped 
for  the  night  below  the  so-called  rapids,  which  at 
tills  time  of  low  water  were  hardly  noticeable. 
An  Indian  came  to  our  camp  from  his  village 
across  the  river,  and  we  traded  a  can  of  con- 
densed milk  with  him  for  a  silver  salmon.    I  got 
into  his  little  narrow  birch  canoe,  and  managed 
to  paddle  it  with  the  featlier-like  paddle,  tijanks 
to  my  experience  in  rowing  a  racing-shell ;  but 
if   required  infinite  care  in  balancing.     I  could 
not  help  admiring  the  ease  with  which  the  In- 
umn  managed  the  delicate  boat  when  he  left  us 
for  home  again,  and  wondering  how  these  people 
catch  salmon  out  of  canoes  like  these. 


1! 


■\ 

''Pi 

I.I:'      fS 


:i»rl1 
if: -ill 


i:i 


ir .  . 


! 


'1^^    !! 


230    rilROUOH   THE   YUKON  GOLD   DWOINGS. 

All  this  day  and  the  next  we  passed  many 
Indian  villages,  made  up  of  white  tents,  with 
red  dried  salmon  hung  uj)  on  frames  in  front. 
Although  these  natives  are  classed  as  Indians, 
(belonging   to    the   grouj)  of   Athabascans)  and 


r\ 


A  Yukon  Caxuk. 


lU'i- 


although  they  show  cei'tain  traits  of  i)hysi- 
ognomy  like  them,  yet  in  their  general  nature 
thev  are  entirelv  different.  Unlike  the  stoical 
Sioux  or  Araj)alH)e  of  the  United  States,  these 
people  arc  childlike  and  open  in  tlieir  manners. 
They  chatter  freely  in  their  own  language, 
whether  it  is  understood  or  not :  thev  are  anx- 


TIIK  LOWER   YUKON. 


231 


ions  to  give  and  get  iiifoi'miition  ;  and  tlioy  seize 
the  slightest  excuse  lor  a  joke  to  giggle  con- 
vnlsively.  They  are  fine  l)oatnien,  and  good 
huntei's  and  lishei'nien.  All  alonii'  the  river 
could  be  seen  their  traps  ol"  stakes,  set  in  some 


Indian  Fish-Tuaps. 

eddy  near  a  Ijend  of  the  river,  and  in  the  eju'ly 
frosty  mornings  the  s(|ua\vs  would  come  down 
to  the  tra])s  in  their  canoes, — which  are  broader 
than  those  of  the  men,  and  managed  by  a  wider 
j)addle — propelling  them  swiftly  and  rhythmic- 
ally along,  crooning  a  song.  They  are  an  in- 
telligent, g<)od-humore<l  {)eople,  already  a  little 


If 


i 


ill 

f 


['■w 

!'': 


m 


■  t  ■'"  , 


*'.hV 


^i,         .^ 


i  -, 


232      TIIROUaiT  THE   YUKON  GOIJ)  DKJGLXGS. 

spoiled  ill  their  iniiniuTS  aiul  ideas  bv  contact 
with  wliites  wiio  were  iiardly  lltted  to  teach  the 
untutored  sava<>e.  Yet  tliev  are  on  the  whole 
far  from  disagreeable  people  to  deal  with,  and 
although  their  habits  did  not  always  seem  u\)  to 
the  civilized  standard,  yet  in  contrast  to  the 
Eskimos  whom  we  saw  further  down  the  river, 
they  Avere  models  of  cleanliness.  There  is  no 
lack  of  variety  in  their  faces,  and  in  one  camp  I 
saw  a  woman  whose  dark  beauty  Avould  have 
ornamented  the  finest  di-awing-room.  AVhether 
or  not  she  had  some  share  of  white  blood  I  do 
not  know. 

These  Indians,  as  a  rule,  have  no  chief,  but 
live  in  the  most  com})lete  indei)endence,  the  only 
authority  over  them  being  that  of  the  shaviai)  or 
medicine  man,  who  attains  his  ascendency  by  his 
cleverness  in  duping  others  to  believe  he  has 
supernatural  gifts,  such  as  prophecy.  It  is  the 
custom  for  any  one  who  aspires  to  high  position 
to  make  ))re(liction  as  to  the  weather,  when  the 
next  steamboat  will  arrive,  and  so  on.  When 
his  predictions  become  true  frequently,  he  gi'ad- 
ually  obtains  inttuonce. 

Great  travellers  are  the  Alaskan  Indians  too, 


II  n 


THE  LOWER   YUKON.  o;{3 

and   at   a  trading  post  along  this  part  of  the 
lukon  one  nuy  see,  besides  tlie  Yukon  [n(h-ans 
others  from  the  Koyukuk,  the  Xanana,  and  even 
the   Ivuskokwini;   but  one  rarely  sees  Eskimos, 
wlio  are  not  such  great  wanderers,  and   when 
they  make  voyages  visit  only   the  regions  i)eo- 
pled  by  their  own  race.     Tliose  Indians  who  live 
on    the  flats  of  the  river  frequently  go  to  thr 
mountains  a  long  distance  off  to  hunt.     Dr.  Dall, 
in   his   "Alaska   and   its   Jtesources,"  gives  the' 
following  translation  of  a  song  which  he  heard 
a  koyukuk  woman  singing  to  lier  infant. 

"The  wind  blows  over  the  Vukon 

My  hushund  hunts  the  deer  on  the  Koy„ku„  monn- 
tains. 

Ahiui,  Ahnii,  sleep,  little  one. 

"  There  is  no  wood  for  the  fire 
The  stone  axe  is  hroken,  n,v  hnshand  carries  the  other 
^M..Te.s  the  sun-warmth  y     Hid  in  the  dam  of  .he 

Keuver,  waiting  the  springtime  V 
Ahmi,  Ahmi,  sleep,  little  one,  wake  not  ! 

"Look  not  for  nkali,' old  woman 
LoMK  since   the  cache    was   en.ptied,  and  the  crow 

•I'H's  not  li-ht  on  the  rid«e-i)ol,.  ' 
LouK   since    my    hnsl.imd    departc.!.     Why  does  he 

wait  on  the  mountains? 
Ahmi,  Ahmi,  sleej),  little  one,  softly, 

'  Dried  salmon. 


u 


S}.. 


In' 

F*'  rim- 


1,1' 


I' 

I 

ti;   : 
i 


■  'j 


231      THROUGH  THE   YUKON  GOLD  DIGGINGS. 

' '  Where  is  my  own  ? 
Does  he  lie  starving  on  the  hillside?    Wliy  does  he 

linger? 
Conies  he   not  soon,    I   will   seek   him  among  the 

mountiiins. 
Ahnii,  Ahmi,  sleep,  little  one,  sleep. 

"  The  crow  has  come,  laughing. 
His  beak  is  red,  his  eyes  glisten,  the  false  one. 
'  Thanks  for  a  good  meal  to  Kuskokala  the  shaman. 
On  the  sharp  mountain  quietly  lies  your  husliand.' 
Ahmi,  Ahmi,  sleep,  little  one,  wake  not. 

"Twenty    deer's    tongues    tied    to    the    pjiek  on   liis 

shoulders  ; 
Not  a  tongue  in  his  mouth  to  call  to  his  wife  with. 
Wolves,  foxes,  and  ravens  are  tearing  for  morsels. 
Tough   and  hard  are  the  sinews  ;    not  so  the  child 

in  your  bosom. 
Ahmi,  Ahmi,  sleep,  little  one,  wake  not! 

"Over  the  mountain  slowly  staggei-s  the  hunter. 
Two  bucks'  thighs  on  his  shoulders,  with  bladders 

of  fat  between  them. 
Twenty  dci  I's    tongues    in   his  belt.      Go    gather 

wood,     Id  woman! 
Off  Hew  the  crow, — liar,  cheat,  and  deceiver! 
Wake,  little  sleeper,  wake,  and  cjill  to  your  father! 

"He  brings  you  back  fat,  marrow,  and  venison  fresh 

from  the  nu)untains. 
Tired  and  worn,  he  has  carved  a  toy  of  the  deer's  horn. 
While  he  was  sitting  and  waiting  long  for  the  deer 

on  the  hillside. 
Wake,   and  see  the  crow,  hiding  himself  from  the 

arrow ! 
Wake,  little  one,  wake,  for  here  is  your  father." 


-,'  •«; . 


THE  LOWER   YUKON. 


235 


Although  we  saw  lish  in  front  of  all  the  tents 
and  apparent  contentment  in  every  face,  yet  we 
were  told  that  tiie  catch  had  not  been  nearly  so 
great  as  usual  that  summer,  and  that  there  must 
inevitably  be  much  suffering  during  the  winter. 
"  Ves,"   said   My  nook,  at  My  nook   Creek,  phil- 
osophically, "Goin'   be   hard   winter;    tink   old 
people  all  die."     We  asked  him  why  just  the  old 
l)eople,  and  he  explained  that  the  old  people  had 
not  been  able  to  gather  so  much  provisions  as  the 
young  and  vigorous  ones,  and  would  therefore 
sooner  starve.     We  told  him  that  in  our  country 
we  cared  for  the  old  first,  and  he  seemed  to  think 
sucii  a  custom  very  unjust,  observing  that  the 
old  who  had  lived  should  die  if  there  was  any 
famine,  and  make  room  for  the  younger  ones 
who  could  live  yet  a  long  time  if  they  could  get 
food.     It  is  starvation,  one  may  add,  which  keeps 
tiie    Indian   population   of    the   whole   Alaskan 
interior  within  very  meagre  limits. 

On  the  3d  of  September  we  came  to  the  mouth 
of  the  Tanana,  a  large  tributary  which  enters  the 
Yukon  on  the  left  side;  the  country  around  its 
mouth  is  low,  and  the  river  itself  splits  into 
many  channels,  forming  a  delta.     On  the  bank 


I' 


.1;     .1 


2:}n      TIUiOUGH  THE   YUKON  GOLD  DIGGINUS. 

of  the  Yukon  opposite  tlie  inouth  of  the  Tanuna 
we  found  a  tradin*^  post  with  two  white  men  and 
a  host  of  Indians.  When  we  landed  at  the  store 
we  were  met  by  tlie  Indians,  the  white  men 
havinf^  not  yet  observed  us.  The  lirst  was 
evidently  a  sliainan  or  medicine  man,  a  cop})er- 
colored  old  fellow  witli  cross  eyes  and  a  cunning 
wrinkle  around  his  mouth,  lie  ceremoniously 
pulled  olf  his  buckskin  gloves  before  offering  his 
hand  to  shake ;  then  pointing  his  finger  to  the 
sky  he  began  a  long  s})ecch  in  his  own  language, 
with  many  gestures.  We  all  listened  very  gravely, 
and  when  he  got  through  and  looked  at  me  with 
an  air  of  self-satisfaction  and  triumph,  I  })laced 
both  hands  on  my  stonuich,  and  rolled  my  eyes, 
then  thumbed  my  nose  at  him,  and  finally  began 
to  quote  to  him  the  immortal  soliloquy  of  llamlet 
"  To  be  or  not  to  be,"  with  much  enq)hasis  and 
nuiny  variations.  P]  very  body  listened  with  evi- 
dent delight,  especially  the  shaman,  and  when 
we  were  through  they  conducted  us  up  to  the 
trading  post.  An  old  fellow  was  smoking  a 
curiously  carved  wooden  pipe,  which  filled  the 
soul  of  one  of  our  party  with  the  desire  to  obtain 
it,  since  it  seemed  such  a  remarkable  bit  of  native 


1i 


THE  LOWER   YUKON.  2\Vl 

work.  He  olFered  five  dollars  for  it  as  a  starter, 
and  the  old  fellow,  astounded  but  willing  to 
accept  the  gifts  of  the  gods  without  questioning, 
handed  over  the  pipe  with  an  alacrity  that  made 
(Goodrich  examine  it  a  little  more  before  parting 
with  his  money.  On  the  bottom  of  the  bowl 
was  stamped  in  the  wood  "  Smith  ^  Co.,  New 
York,"  and  on  closer  ins[)ection  it  was  evident 
that  the  apparent  carving  was  in  reality  pressed, 
and  that  the  i)ipe  was  worth  in  the  neighborhood 
of  twenty-iive  cents  in  the  States. 

We  were  welcomed  by  the  trader,  and  after  a 
lunch  with   him   floated  down  the  river  about 
eight   miles   to   the  mission   below.     There  our 
eyes  were   delighted    by  a   neat   little  building 
with  a  belfry  and  bell,  and  actually  two  dormer 
windows.     It  was  the  work  of  the  pioneer  Mike 
Iless,  from  whom  the  stream  entering  the  Yukon 
above    Mynook    creek    had   been   named.     The 
missionary  was  absent  in  a  parochial  call  live 
hundred  miles  away,  but  his  wife  and  child  and  a 
nurse    were    tiiero.     The    missionary   published 
the  only  paper  on  the  Yukon  at  that  time;   it 
api)eared  once  a  yeiw,  and  consisted  of  four  small 
I)ages,  printed  on  a  hand-press.     The  items  were 


'j:jh    Tiinovait  THE  riKoN  GOLD  niav.iNds. 


It' 


;  I 


from  nil  over  tlic  count rv,  and   iiitiny  of  them 
wero  very  interesting  and  amusing. 

From  here  we  kept  on  travelling  with  tlio 
current  down  the  Yukon,  helping  oui*  sjx'ed  i»y 
continuous  rowing.  There  being  three  of  us, 
"tricks"  of  one  hour  were  ai ranged,  so  eacli 
man  steered  for  an  Injur,  rowed  an  hour,  and 
then  sat  in  the  stern  for  an  hour,  ivgarding  tlie 
landscape  and  nuddng  notes.  It  grew  so  chilly 
that  often  the  time  lor  resting  was  hardest  to 
endure,  for  the  skin  would  cool  and  the  teeth 
would  chatter  even  with  all  the  clothes  we  could 
get  on,  and  we  would  be  glad  to  get  a  little 
vigorous  exercise  again.  Storms  were  frecpient, 
and  we  often  had  the  pleasure  of  sitting  in  the 
driving  rain  all  day  long.  We  covered  over  our 
outfi!"  as  well  as  we  could  and  even  rigged  up  a 
sort  ot  awning  of  sail-cloth  oh  a  frame-work  of 
boughs,  which  kept  the  rain  off  the  steersman, 
while  the  man  who  was  resting  crawled  under 
a  tari)aulin,  and  the  oarsman  rowed  and  got  wet ; 
so  that  under  these  conditions  the  })ositi(m  of 
steersman  was  most  coveted.  The  wind  blew 
with  such  violence  that  sometimes  we  took  water 
over  the   bow  and  stern  of  our  boat,  and   the 


Tin:  LOW'Kli   ilKUX 


Q[)[) 


stccniKin  liad  to  cxort  skill  to  kci'j)  from  swiinn)- 
ing".  Wlini  tlio  woiitlici'  was  clear,  liowcvrr,  it 
was  cool,  and  we  enjoyed  life  more  at  such  times 
tlian  we  had  before  done. 

To  wake  up  on  a  gloriously  bright  morning,  in 


Ix  A  Text  Beneath  .Spulce  Tiu;i;s. 


a  tent  pitclied  beneath  sj)ruce  trees,  and  to  look 
out  lazily  and  sleepily  for  a  moment  from  the 
open  side  of  the  tent,  across  the  dead  cam])-fire 
of  the  night  before,  to  the  river,  whci'e  ihe  light 
of  morning  rests  and   perhaps  some  early-i-ising 


240    THROUGH  THE    YUKON  GOLD   DIGGINGS. 


I' ' 
t  'I 


native  is  gliding  in  his  birch  canoe ;  to  go  to  the 
river  and  freshen  one's  self  with  the  cold  v/ater, 
and  yell  exultingly  to  the  gulls  and  hell-divers, 
in  the  very  joy  of  living ;  or  to  wake  at  night, 
when  you  have  rolled  in  your  blankets  in  the 
frost-stricken  dying  grass  without  a  tent,  and  to 
look  up  through  tlie  leaves  above  to  the  dark 
sky  and  the  flashing  stars,  and  hear  far  ofl*  the 
call  of  a  night  bird  or  the  howl  of  a  wolf  :  this 
is  the  poetry,  the  joy  of  a  wild  and  roving  ex- 
istence, wiiich  cannot  come  too  often.  No  one 
need  look  for  such  moments  during  moscpdto 
time  in  Alaska.  But  the  pests  were  over  now, 
and  men  and  animals  who  had  been  fighting  them 
all  summer  rested  and  drew  deep  draughts  of 
peace,  and  strengthened  themselves  for  the  sting- 
ing cold  of  the  winter,  likewise  hard  on  the 
temper  and  on  the  vital  powers. 

In  our  downward  journey  we  passed  close  by 
mountains  whose  tops  were  beginning  to  be 
snow-covered,  and  were  higlier  than  those  of  the 
Rampart  Mountains,  which  we  had  crossed  above 
the  Tanana ;  yet  tiiey  were  further  from  the 
river,  with  level  country  between.  Leaving 
these    behind    we   came   to   Hats   similar   to  the 


THE  LOWER   YUKON.  .41 

great  Yukon  flats  above  the  Kainparts,  but  not 
so  extensive.     Here   the  river   split  into  many 
channels,  enclosing  low  green  islands.     The  clay 
banks  were  fifty  or  a  huntlred  feet  high,  and  as 
Ave  followed  the  current  it  took  us  against  ti'e 
side  which  it  was  engaged  in  cutting  away.     We 
had   to   avoid  getting   too  close,  for  one  .lever 
knew    when    a    portion,    undermined    by    the 
stream,  would   topple   over   with   a   tremendous 
splash ;  and  if  such  a  rr^ass  should  strike  the  boat 
it  would  bear  it  to  the  bottom  of  the  river  and 
bury  it  so  deeply  and  easily  that  when  the  dust 
01  the  fall  should  clear  away,  the  circles  on  the 
water  would  be  as  regular  as  usual. 

The  banks  showed  on  the  upper  parts,  de- 
posits of  black  peat,  twenty  or  thirty  feet  thick, 
and  it  was  evident  that  tlie  accumulations  are 
going  on  at  the  surface  yet.  Alaska  is,  like 
other  Arctic  regions,  densely  covered  with  moss, 
which  grows  alike  in  the  swamps  and  on  the 
steep  hillsides;  and  the  successive  generations 
of  mosses,  one  rearing  itself  on  the  remains 
of  the  others,  bring  about  in  time  a  de[)osit 
of  peat  which  one  can  find  nearly  jvjrvwhere 
if  he  digs  down.     It  is  well  known  that  such' 


«:;  1 


242      THROUGH  THE   YUKON  GOLD  DIGGINGS. 

vegetable  accumulations,  after  having  been  trans- 
formed into  peat,  may  by  further  change  become 
a  lignite  or  sort  of  brown  coal,  and  when  much 
altered  by  the  heat  or  pressure  attending  the 
uneasy  movement  of  the  eartli's  crust  may  even 
become  anthracite.  In  many  regions  the  crust, 
.apparently  still,  is  in  reality  constantly  moving, 
although  so  slowly  that  we  do  not  notice  it ; 
yet  in  the  course  of  ages  the  most  stupendous 
clianges  have  been  brought  about.  Wq  are  ac- 
customed to  picture  coal  as  originating  in  trop- 
ical swamps  of  the  carboniferous  period,  with 
enormous  trees  bearing  leaves  many  feet  long, 
and  bullfrogs  as  big  as  men  squatting  in  the 
background,  while  the  air  is  so  heavily  laden 
witli  carbonic  acid  that  it  would  put  out  a  can- 
dle; but  here,  at  the  Arctic  Circle,  the  formation 
of  coal  is  evidently  going  on  rapidly,  and  future 
generations  may  derive  beneiit  from  it. 

Beds  of  vegetable  matter  belonging  to  a  past 
age  are  abundant  all  along  the  Yukon,  but  the 
coal  is  as  yet  only  a  black  shiny  lignite,  for  it  has 
not  been  altered  nmch ;  and  leaves  found  in  it 
show  that  the  vegetation  of  the  period  when  the 
beds   accunmlated   was  not   far  different   from 


THE  LOWER  YUKON. 


243 


what  it  is  to-day,  and  had  notliing  to  do  with 
gigantic  tadpoles  anu  mahiria. 

One  of  the  most  interesting  of  the  high  clay 
bluffs  which  we  passed  lies  on  the  left-hand  side 
of  the  river,  not  far  below  the  Tanana.  It  has 
been  called  by  some  early  travellers  the  Palisades, 
and  this  name  appears  on  the  map,  but  the  miners 
and  traders  know  it  by  the  name  of  the  Bone- 
yard,  from  the  fact  that  there  are  buried  in  the 
silts  near  the  top  (which  is  about  two  hundred 
feet  high)  many  bones  of  large  animals,  which 
come  down  to  the  river  as  portions  of  tlie  bluff 
are  undermined  and  fall.  We  stopped  at  tliis 
place,  and,  slumping  tlirough  the  mud  to  tlie  foot 
of  the  bluff,  we  came  across  the  tusk  of  a  mam- 
moth, which  probably  weighed  ovor  a  hundred 
and  fifty  pounds.  It  was  as  tliick  .is  a  man's  h>g 
at  its  larger  end,  but  the  whole  of  it  was  evi- 
dently not  there.  Further  on  we  found  a  siiuilh'r 
tusk  with  the  end  worn  off  as  if  the  animal  hjul 
been  using  it  severely  for  some  purpose.  After- 
wards we  saw  otlier  bones, — leg  bones,  frag- 
ments of  the  backbone,  etc., — in  great  alnmdanco. 
Our  little  boat  was  too  small  to  carry  these 
gigantic  relics,  but  we  i)reserved  a  huge  molar 


iM; 


211      THROUGH  THE   YUKON  GOLD  DIGGINGS. 

tooth  from  a  mammoth,  measuring  several  inches 
across,  and  we  sawed  otf  portions  of  (jne  of  tlie 
tusks. 

The  extinct  hairy  elepliant,  or  mammotli,  in- 
hahited  Ahiska  at  a  time  i)revious  to  tlie  memory 
of  num,  yet  not  very  ancient,  geologically  si)eak- 
ing.  Remains  of  these  aninuils  arc  also  abundant 
in  Arctic  America  and  Siberia.  It  was  at  lirst 
supposed  that  the  climate  was  tropical  when  they 
existed,  since  it  is  well  known  that  the  elephant 
is  a  native  of  hot  countries,  and  the  bones  are 
almost  exactly  like  those  of  the  elephants  of  the 
tropics.  The  discovery  of  some  of  these  remains 
in  the  Itiver  Lena  in  Siberia  .vas  one  of  tiie  most 
interesting  of  modern  scientilic  events.  From 
some  reason  or  the  other,  many  mammoth  had 
been  caught  in  the  ice  of  the  river  and  had  been 
frozen  in,  the  ice  never  melting  through  all  the 
thousands  of  years  that  followed.  So  well  pre- 
served were  they  at  the  time  of  their  discovery 
that  it  is  said  they  furnished  food  for  dogs;  but 
what  amazed  scientists  most  was  to  find  that 
this  elephant  was  covered  with  very  long  hair  or 
fur,  forming  a  i)rotection  against  the  cold  such 
as  few  creatures  possess.     The  fur  and  much  of 


sii; 


i  i 


THE  LOWER  YUKON. 


245 


the  skin  of  one  of  these  nuiinnioth  may  be  seen 
in  the  museum  at  St.  Petersburg. 

We  know  from  oeoh)gic  evidence  that  Ahiska, 
firm  and  solid  land  thoii<^h  it  ai)|)eai's  to  be,  is 
really  slowly  rising  out  of  the  sea,  and  we  also 
know  that  tliis  rising  motion  has  been  going  on 
for  a  very  long  time.  At  a  period  which  must 
have  been  many  hundred  yetirs  ago,  the  country 
was  covered  with  a  multitude  of  shallow  lakes, 
many  of  them  large,  and  some  of  immense  size- 
rivalling  our  Great  Lakes  of  the  St.  Lawrence 
river  system.  JVfost  of  these  lakes  are  now 
drained  and  we  have,  as  records  of  them,  only 
broad  flats  composed  of  line  clays  and  silts  which 
accumulated  as  sediments  in  the  lake  bottoms. 
Through  this  vast  lake  regi<m  roamed  the  mam- 
moth in  herds,  and  so  far  as  we  can  tell  the 
climate  was  much  the  same  as  it  is  now ;  but 
with  the  elevation  of  the  land  and  the  draining- 
of  the  lakes  the  mammoth  has  (lisa})peared — the 
reason  no  one  is  able  to  tell. 

The  Eskimos  carve  the  mammoth  tusks  into 
ornaments,  pipes,  and  other  ivory  articles.  They 
are  familiar,  in  fancy,  with  tiie  animal,  and 
have  a  special  name  for  it,  as  well  as   for   its 


hi 


m 

m 

M 


II 


\\ 


240      THROUGH   THE   YUKON  GOLD  DiaGlNGS. 

ivory  as  distinguished  from  walrus  ivory.  They 
also  have  some  vague  legends  about  it,  which 
the  traveller  may  learn  through  an  interpreter. 
At  St.  Michael's  a  Mahlemut  Eskimo  told  me 
that  a  long  time  ago,  when  the  whole  coun- 
try was  full  of  lakes  and  darker  than  it  is 
now,  these  animals  were  alive,  and  in  the  time 
of  their  fathers  they  were  said  to  still  exist,  far 
in  the  interior,  on  the  shores  of  a  great  lake ; 
and  that  their  fathers  never  went  near  this 
lake,  hunting,  for  fear  of  this  beast.  It  is  more 
than  likely,  however,  knowing  what  we  do  of 
the  Eskimo  habits  and  character,  that  this  was 
simply  fancy,  which  grew  out  of  linding  the 
tusks  and  the  bones  ;  or  an  invention,  gotten  up 
to  satisfy  the  Avhite  man's  curiosity,  for  the 
Eskimo  is  so  willing  to  please  that  he  always 
tells  exactly  what  he  thinks  will  be  appreciated, 
whether  or  not  it  is  the  truth.  Moreover,  so  far 
as  I  have  been  able  to  jud^e  from  other  things, 
the  Eskimo  tradition  does  not  run  nearly  so  far 
back  as  it  nee*  is  must  to  extend  to  the  time  of  the 
mammoth. 

Breaking  camp  one  morning,  just  as  the  smoke 
was   beginning   to   curl   from   the  camj)  of  our 


in 


THE  LOWER   YUKON.  247 

Siwasli  ncio-lil)ors  on  tlie  other  bunk  of  tlie  river, 
we  ran  rapidly  down  stream,  and  by  the  early 
afternoon  passed  tJie  moutli  of  the  Koyukuk. 
Tliis  is  a  large  stream  of  clear  water  contrasting 
sharply  with  the  muddy  roily  waters  of  the 
Yukon,  from  which  it  is  separated  almost  by  a 
distinct  line.  Above  the  rivers  at  the  point  of 
junction  rises  a  beautiful  sharp  cliff,  probably  a 
thousand  feet  high  and  nearly  i)erpendicular  to 
the  top. 

On  reaching    '^.is  place  we  were  met  by  heavy 
winds  which  tossed  the  surface  of  the  river  into 
waves,   and    where  it  blew  against  the  current 
made  a  chop  sea,  so  that  the  Skookum  took  in  a 
good  ..eal  of  wjiter.      Soon  we  were  unable  to 
make  any  headway  at  all  against  the  wind,  so 
we  landed,  and  tracking  our  boat  along  the  bank 
till    we  came   to   a  little  "  slough ''  or  shallow 
side  channel  whci-e  the  water,  pi'otected  by  trees 
which  grew  on  both  sides,  was  smooth,  we  made 
camp.     It  was  a  flat  smooth  place,  and  the  ground 
was    covered    thickly   with  fuzzy   bright    green 
plants  of  the  horse-tail  family,  which  made  every- 
thing look  so  downy  that  one  felt  like  rolling  in 
it.     These  beautiful  i)krnts  are  easily  crushed  un- 


m 

ii 
1 

m 

U 

ii 

■■:l 

it 
11 

■'  i;| 

;; 

.;; ;' ' 

i'l 

!■• 


!l 


111* 


,1 


ir 


248    TJiiiouan  THE  vukon  gold  Diaajxas. 

dor  foot,  an<l  ji  little  tniin])ing  around  liiid  tho 
effect  of  pressing  out  tiie  water  witli  wliicli  tlie 
sand  was  filled,  and  transfornung  all  into  a  very 
soft  mud.  We  hud  to  keep  our  heavy  boots  on, 
therefore,  especially  around  the  lire,  which  is  the 
most  fre(piented  spot  in  a  pioneer's  camp  ;  and 
iinally  we  had  to  lay  poles  along  the  path  be- 
tween the  camp  and  the  boat,  to  prevent  slump- 
ing too  deeply.  To  add  to  our  discomforts,  the 
rain  camo  down  in  torrents  that  night,  piercing 
our  somewhat  service-woi-n  tent,  so  that  by  morn- 
ing most  of  our  outfit,  including  blankets,  was 
more  or  less  wet. 

Starting  out  again,  we  found,  soon  after  leav- 
ing our  sheltered  nook,  that  the  wind  was  still 
blowing,  and  in  stretches  of  the  river  where  the 
wind  was  ahead  we  could  move  only  very  slowl}', 
while  on  other  curves  we  went  at  a  high  rate  of 
s|)eed.  So  we  moved  along  by  jerks  till  about 
noon,  when  we  were  brought  to  a  standstill  by 
an  increase  in  the  wind,  and  after  an  effort  to 
proceed  further,  which  resulted  in  our  being 
blown  back  a  little  up  the  river,  we  landed, 
waited  an  hour  and  lunched;  after  this,  the  wind 
having    gone   down    somewhat,    we   j)roceeded. 


'\ 


:f 


THE  LOWER   YVKOX.  o,.) 

We  passed  sevoral  niitivo  villages,  both  winter 
and     summer     camps,    the    former    with    their 
clumsily    built    h>o-    houses    and    attendant   loo- 
Cliches,  the  latter   with    their  white   tents    and 
lines  of  fish  drying  on  frames  in  fi-ont.     The  in- 
liabitants  shouted  out  vociferous  gi-eetings  to  us 
as  we  i)assed,  which  we  did  not  understaml ;  but 
we   responded   quite   as   cordially    in    oui-    own 
tono-ue.     At  about  live  o'clock  we  reached   the 
native  village  of  Nulato,  one  of  the  largest  on 
the  river,  with  a  i)oi)ulation  of  several  hundred, 
and  a  small  trading  post,  at  that  time  kept  by  J 
half-breed  trader. 

Our  first  (piestion  on  landing  was  whether  the 
steamer   had   passed   down   the  Yukon   for   St. 
IVrichael's.    This  steamer  would  be  the  last  which 
would   make   connections   with   Seattle  or   San 
Francisco,  so  if  we  missed  it  we  would  be  obliged 
to  remain  all  winter  in  the  counti-y.     AVe  rm'w 
approximately  when  the  boat  woulil  leave  Circle 
Ch'ty,  and   from   time  to  time,  as  we  had  been 
floating  down  the  river,  we  had  incp.ired  at  trad- 
ing posts  whether  she  had  yet  ])assed  us,  foi-  this 
would  be  very  easy  by  day  in  the  many  channels 
of  the  Flats,  and  still  easier  by  night,  especially 


? 


2no    THROUGH  THE   YUKON  GOLD  DIGGINGS. 


I'' 


as  tlio  rivor,  even  when  contined  in  a  single 
channel,  is  often  several  miles  wide  in  this  lower 
part,  and  a  steamer  passing  on  one  side  would 
hardly  be  observed  from  our  camp  on  the  other 
bank. 

We  had  last  heard  at  the  station  opposite  the 
mouth  of  the  Tanana  that  she  had  not  vet 
passed,  though  she  was  daily  expected — but  that 
was  several  days  ago.  Of  course  we  would  have 
been  able  to  lie  by  at  any  of  these  i)osts  and 
camp  until  the  steamer  should  arrive ;  but  so 
great  was  our  desire  to  make  the  best  possible 
use  of  every  minute  we  had  to  stay  in  Alaska 
that  we  preferred  to  take  the  risk  of  being  left 
all  winter,  with  an  opportunity  of  building  a  log 
hut  and  laying  in  fire-wood  till  spring,  I'ather 
than  lose  the  last  i)art  of  our  journey  in  the 
Skookum.  But  we  were  relieved  by  the  ti'ader 
at  Kulato,  who  told  us  that  the  steamer  had  not 
arrived.  AV"e  were  then  given  the  use  of  a  log 
cabin,  with  glass  windows,  which  was  sumptu- 
ously furnished  with  a  stove,  a  hewn-wood  bed, 
a  table  and  a  three-legged  stool. 

After  supper  we  made  the  tour  of  the  village, 
crawling  into   the  little  cabins  of  the   natives, 


THE  LOWER  YUKON. 


2r>i 


where  the  women  sat  cross-legged  in  groups,  oc- 
cupied in  their  sewing.  They  were  making 
gloves  of  moose-skin  trimmed  with  beaver,  cai)s 
of  the  ground  squirrel  or  marmot  fur,  and  high 
boots  of  the  hair  seal  Avith  bottoms  of  walrus 
hide.  Most  of  them  used  steel  needles,  though 
many  still  kept  to  those  of  pierced  bone,  which 
seemed  in  skillful  hands  to  serve  the  purpose 
quite  as  well.  Our  curiosity  was  soon  satisfied, 
for  each  dwelling  was  much  like  every  other ;  so 
after  we  had  made  bargains  for  some  of  the  ar- 
ticles, we  went  back  to  our  cabin  anil  turned  in. 
The  joy  of  having  a  roof  over  our  heads  as  a  pi-o- 
tection  against  the  rain  which  was  now  pelting 
down  was  so  great  that  I  lay  awake  some  little 
time  staring  gloatingly  up  at  the  logs. 

In  the  morning  the  one  whose  turn  it  was  to 
cook  rose  earlv,  and  soon  largo  kettles  were  full 
of  beans,  dried  api)les  and  rice,  and  all  were 
boiling  merrily  away,  while  the  bacon  sizzled 
and  smoked  in  the  frying-pan.  The  other  two 
of  us  lay  lazily  in  our  blankets,  and  sniffed  the 
delicious  odors,  turning  now  and  then  from  side 
to  side  when  the  hewn  logs  upon  which  we  were 
lying  grew  conspicuously  hard.      Suddenly  the 


sw  Tifiiorair  rnK  yuKi,n  oold  niaoisas. 


:!! 


•'H 


%'<  . 


i 

li's  i 


door  v.'.is  burst  open  und  a  clejil-und-dimib  Indian 
wlu)  liud  iiiiide  liiniself  useful  tlie  niglit  before, 
bi'inging'  us  wood  und  water  in  eonsideration  of 
a  square  meal  afterwards,  rusiied  in,  and  with 
many  gestures  began  to  try  to  make  us  under- 
stand something.  We  had  seen  a  surprisingly 
large  number  of  deaf  mutes  among  the  natives, 
and  tJiey  were  always  more  easy  to  understand 
than  the  others,  who  had  the  luibit  of  sputtering 
and  choking  away  in  their  own  tongue,  although 
they  knew  very  well  that  Ave  did  not  understand 
a  word  of  it;  while  the  deaf  mutes  immediately 
enlightened  us  by  some  of  the  signs  they  were 
so  practiced  in  making.  This  one,  by  energetic 
revolutions  of  his  hands  around  one  another, 
recalled  to  us  immediately  the  stern-wheel  of  a 
steamboat,  while  the  puffing  he  made  with  his 
mouth  took  away  all  doubt  as  to  his  meaning. 
Then  he  pointed  up  the  river,  and  gesticulated 
violently. 

We  all  turned  out  on  the  double  quick,  and, 
sure  enough,  the  steamer  was  not  more  than  a 
half  a  mile  away.  She  was  due  to  stop  at  Xulato 
a  half  hour  to  get  wood,  and  so  heavy  was  the 
traffic  on  the  river  at  this  time  of  the  year  and 


i\,\ 


m 


so  nil 


THE  LOWER   YUKON. 

portant  every  hour  in  making  connect 


'2:v.\ 


with    the    ocean    ste 


ions 


m 


lor    that    wc    knew    she 


n 


MIL' 


1    our 


coukl  not  be  got  to  stay  loiiocr.     So  we  he.-a 
hasty   and    energetic   preparations,  lii-st   i-oll 
our     bhinkets    and    strapping    them    wit! 
personal  outlit  into  the  pack-sacks  wliich  we  had 
carried     Throughout    the    trip,    tlien    hurriedly 
bundling  together  tents,  specimens,  and  whatever 
else  we  deemed  necessary  and  practicable  to  take 
out    of   Alaska   with   us.      Many   of  the   more 
cumbersome  articles  we  abandoned,  as  they  were 
much  worn,  and  it  would  cost  more  than  the 
original  price  to  carry  them  back  to  the  Ignited 
States  at   the   extraordinary    prices  for  freight 
then  prevailing.     The  natives  soon  been  me  aware 
of  our  hurry  and  hung  around  in  numbers,  eager 
to  help,  but  generally  getting  in  the  way ;  each 
had  his  eye  on  some  article  which  he  hoped  to 
fall  heir  to.      To  many  of  these  natives,  poor 
beyond  our  ordinary  concejition  of  poverty,  a 
nicked  camp-axe  is  a  substantial  private  fortune, 
and  one  Siwash  to  whom  this  article  was  awarded 
for  general  good  conduct  marched  off  in  great 
happiness.     Another  fell  heir  to  our  boat— the 
faithful  old  Skookum,   who  had  carried  us  two 


t , 


V 


■■> 


^1 


ml 

m 


I'm 

f 


li 


c 

;i>i  ill 


i'. 


254      THROUGH  THE   YUKON  GOLD  DIGGINGS. 

thousand  miles,  and  now  Avas  somewhat  battered 
and  leaky  as  the  result  of  her  travels. 

Meanwhile  tiie  steamer  had  swung  in  close  to 
the  flat  high  bank,  the  gang  planks  had  been 
dropped  down,  and  scores  of  natives,  partly 
those  of  the  village  and  partly  those  who  had 
come  on  the  steamer,  scampered  back  and  forth 
carrying  wood  on  board  in  the  most  clums}'  and 
ridiculous  fashion,  but  still  accomplishing  much 
w^ork  by  reason  of  their  numbers.  Miners,  with 
whom  the  boat  was  crowded,  came  ashore  and 
strolled  around  the  village  ;  they  walked  into  our 
cabin  and  pestered  us  with  idle  and  aimless 
(juestions,  as  we  were  working  hard  to  get  our 
stuff  read}'  to  take  on  board.  At  the  last  mo- 
ment, wh^n  sufticient  wood  had  been  gotten  in, 
the  whistle  was  blown  ;  we  grabbed  our})ack-sacks 
antl  gave  the  remaining  burdens  to  the  natives  to 
cari'V,  and  hurried  on  board.  AVe  had  left  some 
things,  others  than  those  mentioned.  I  felt  then 
a  keen  regret,  wliich  occurs  to  me  whenever  I 
think  of  it,  at  being  obliged  to  abandon  all  the 
good  "grub"  which  had  been  boiling  and  frying 
away  so  merrily  on  the  stove  when  our  deaf- 
and-dumb  friend  had  I'oused  us  from  our  dream. 


THE  LOWER   YUKON. 


255 


Xone  of  us  being  enthusiastic  cooks,  it  liad  been 
our  custom  to  prepare  large  amounts  of  tlie  stock 
articles  of  diet  at  a  time,  in  order  tliat  one  cook- 
ing, with  some  few  additions,  might  last  most  of 
each  man's  allotted  time  of  three  days ;  so  tlie 
quantity  wo  left  beliind  was  ami)le  to  feeil  quite 
a  number  of  Siuash,  and  I  have  no  doubt  they 
gorged  themselves,  and  had  lively  times  trying 
to  see  who  could  eat  the  most  and  the  quickest  ° 
TJje   steamer  was   packed.     Miners  who   had 
intended  to  go  to  tlie  "Outside"  this  year,  had 
waited  as  late  as  they  dared,  so  as  to  work  tlic:: 
claim  and   bring  out  as  much  as  possible,  and 
then  had  taken  this  last  l,oat.     We  found  every 
sleeping  accommodation  taken,  and  not  until  iate 
in  the  afternoon  did  tlie  steward's  .-osources  lind 
us  a  place.     The  only  available  space  left  under 
cover  was   that  occupied   hy  the   tables  in   the 
steerage    division.      After    supper    was    eaten, 
these  tables  were  taken  our,  and  the  fl()(,r-i-o.>m' 
thus  gained    was  allotted  us.      The  rest  ..1  the 
Hoor  was  already  occupied,  and  we  had  to  exer- 
cise great  care  to  keep  from   i-o[|ing  ov»'r  into 
another  man's  preserves.     AVe  spread  our  )-ul)ber 
blankets  on  the  deck  to  i)rotect  us  from  tobacco 


M 


|l! 


IS;' 


n 


i 


I!  ' 


256      THROUGH  THE   YUKON  GOLD   DIGGINGS. 

juice  and  otlier  unpleasant  things,  and  spread 
our  woollen  blankets  on  these.  Lights  were  put 
out  at  about  ten  o'clock,  and  after  that  there  was 
considerable  stumbling  around. 

( )n  the  forward  deck  in  front  of  the  steerage 
department  an  active  poker  game,  conducted  by 
a  professional  gambler,  was  continually  in  i)r()g- 
ress,  under  a  sail  which  had  been  rigged  u[)  as  a 
cover.  This  game  always  wore  on  until  mid- 
night and  attracted  many  interested  spectators  as 
well  as  plaj'ers,  all  crowding  around  the  table  on 
which  stacks  of  gold  pieces  were  })iled,  under  the 
light  of  a  lantern  tied  overhead.  AVhen  the  men 
finally  started  to  bed,  they  lost  their  bearings  in 
the  almost  complete  darkness  and  wandered 
far  and  wide,  stumbling  over  the  prostrate  sleep- 
ers, whose  loud  and  heartfelt  oaths  disturbed  the 
])eace  almost  as  much  as  the  hobnailed  boots  on 
one's  stomach.  At  the  first  glimmer  of  dawn — 
/.  ('.,  about  three  in  the  morning — we  were  routed 
out  and  nuule  to  roll  up  our  blankets  out  of  the 
way  in  oi-dor  that  the  tables  might  be  set  up  for 
a  seven  oV'Ujck  breakfiist ;  so  on  the  whole  our 
sleep  was  light  and  short.  Vet  we  had  paid  lirst- 
class  fares  on  boarding  the  boat.     1  have  since 


! 


THE  LOWER    YUKON. 


257 


taken  a  coiufortable  two- weeks'  voyage  on  a 
transatlantic  steamer  to  Germany  for  tlie  same 
price  as  I  i)ai(l  for  this  passage  to  St.  Michael's, 
occupying  four  or  five  days. 

The  next  day  Ave  stopped  at  the  native  village 
of  Anvik.     By  this  time  we  had  left  the  land  of 
the   Indians  or    Ingeliks,    which  reaches  down 
the  river  below  Nulato,  and  had   reached   that 
of  the  Innuits  or  Eskimos.     Anvik  was  the  first 
Eskimo   village  I  had  seen  and  the   impression 
I   carried  away  with  me  was  one  of  extreme 
disgust.     The   whole    place  was   a   human   sty, 
from  which  arose  an  overpowering  stink.     The 
houses  were  mere  shacks  built  of  poles  laid  close 
together,  with  holes  ia  the  centre  to  allow  the 
smoke    to    escape.     All   around   the   houses,   in 
front,  behind,  and  along  tlie  patiis,  was  ordure. 
Most  of  the  people  whom  we  saw  had  the  ap- 
pearance of  being  diseased :  whole  rows  of  the 
maimed,   the    halt,   tlie   l)lind,   and   the   scrofu- 
lous, sunned   themselves   in   front  of   the  huts. 
Others  sat  huddled  in  their  long  fur  shirts  or 
parkas  (whicli   constitute   their   only  garment), 
and  coughed  constantly,  too  sick  to  show  much 
interest  in  the  white  visitors.     A  little  apart,  in 


( 


■      ;.; 

w  t 

M   i. 

-t  :|i: 

;■        •<      ji'; 

:         ■?     i 

1        :'i        ''[' 

1    ■  .^j(     A 

I  • '  ,'•-.!     ■:' 

1     ■■'     ii^; 

..sl     f' 

■  "'is 

,P    1 

"■  ■  r»  ^ 

,'-'*   '■ 

■r 

■:             « 

Jil't'l    :, 

iv"^  '■ 

vi 


258      THROUGH   THE    YUKON  GOLD  DIGGINGS. 

front  oi  uhe  houses,  a  woman  squatted,  sobbing, 
while  beside  her  crouched  an  old  crone  with  a 
mouth  like  a  fish,  who  crooned  incessantly  a 
weird,  monotonous  and  mournful  chant,  to  which 
the  sobbing  woman  made  brief  responses  at  in- 
tervals. Other  women  sat  around  in  their  doors, 
all  looking  sad,  and  many  sobbing.  A  young 
Indian  boy  from  the  steamer,  who  had  picked 
up  some  English  in  a  mission  school,  explained 
the  scene  to  us.  "  That  woman's  baby  die,"  he 
said.     "  Everybody  all  day  cry." 

"VVe  were  glad  to  turn  away  from  the  most 
dismal  and  degiaded  set  of  human  beings  it  had 
ever  been  my  lot  to  see ;  on  our  way  Inick  to  the 
steamer  we  ])asscd  a  building  of  sawed  boards 
used  as  a  mission,  and  met  the  missionary,  wlio 
was  j)roperly  attired  in  a  suit  of  clerical  black, 
with  white  linen  and  tie.  He  had  a  book  in  his 
hand.  I  had  rather  seen  him  dressed  in  a  parka, 
with  an  axe  over  his  shoulder. 

Below  Anvik  a  short  distance,  we  came  to  the 
Holy  Cross  IMission,  a  (Catholic  station  located  at 
another  Eskimo  village.  The  village  was  only  a 
little  better  than  that  of  Anvik  to  look  at,  but 
somewhat  better  to  smell  of.     The  mission  itself. 


THE  LOWER   YUKON. 


259 


however,  was  a  model.     Tlie  buildings  were  well- 
built  and  clean,  and  there  was  a  flourishing  gar- 
den,   containing    potatoes,   rutabagas,   cabbirges 
and   lettuce,   the    whole   surrounded    by   a   rail 
fence;  and  in  another  little  enclosure  there  was 
a  real  live  co.  ,  almost  as  much  a  novelty  to  us  as 
to  the  natives  from  further  up  the  river,\vho  left 
the  steamboat  and  pressed  around  the  strange 
animal   with    wondering  eyes,  as  children  view 
the  elephant  at  their  first  circus.     We  saw  many 
little  girls,  pupils  of  the  school,  spotlessly  ar- 
rayed  in  new  calico  dresses,  with  gay  silk  or 
cotton  handkerchiefs  on  their  heads.    They  made 
quite  a  pretty  picture,  and  the  contrast  of  the 
little  maidens  with  their  relatives  at  Anvik  was 
something  almost  startling.     These  children  had 
been  taken  away  from  their  ])arents  by  the  sis- 
ters who  teach  at  the  .Alission  and  were  being 
brought  up  by  them,  to  be  sent  away  again  only 
when  grown. 

Between  the  [foly  Cross  Mission  and  the  Yukon 
delta  the  river  grows  continually  wider  till  it  is 
in  places  fully  five  miles  from'  bank  to  bank, 
without  islands.  The  banks  themselves  bp-ome 
low  and  very  flat,  and  the  timber  disappears  al- 


i   I 


ll. 

■iffl 


li    '       r' 

iL  I-; 

Ir  ,,? 


■  1  'I' 


■  i'lt 
1)1 


I:}'..     I 


260      THROUGH  THE  YUKON  GOLD  DIGGINGS. 

most  entirely,  leaving  the  swampy  plains  known 
as  tundra.  Along  here  the  only  fuel  is  drift- 
wood ;  and  this  the  natives  had  stacked  up  in 
places  ready  for  the  steamer.  Landing  to  take  on 
wood  was  always  the  opportunity  for  a  run  on 
shore,  dickering  with  the  natives  for  curiosities, 
and  general  hilarity.  The  people  liere  were  won- 
derfully different  from  those  on  the  Yukon  from 
Nulato  to  the  headwaters,  being  round  and  rosy, 
rather  small  in  stature,  and  with  a  certain  Mon- 
golian appearance.  They  are  childlike  in  look 
and  action,  witli  round  wondering  eyes,  and 
mouths  always  ready  to  Si.iile  broiidly  and  unre- 
servedly at  an}'^  hint  of  a  joke.  They  were 
dressed  in  the  Eskimo  parka,  made  of  furs  of 
various  sorts,  especially  squirrel,  n,ink,  reindeer, 
or  muskrat.  The  whole  sustenance  of  the  people 
in  this  barren  tundra  district  appeared  to  be  fish, 
and  many  of  them  had  been  obliged  to  make  their 
parkas  and  leggings  out  of  the  fish  skins,  which 
were  sewn  together  with  much  neatness  aiul 
'aste,  and  were  ornamented  with  red  ochre.  In 
wet  weather  they  wore  long  shirts  made  of  the 
entrails  of  animals,  split  o])en  and  sewn  together ; 
these   had    tight-fitting    hoods  and  sleeves,  and 


THE  LOWFAt  YUKON. 


261 


were  practically  watertight.  The  Eskimo  kayak 
or  covered  boat,  iiuide  by  stretching  seal  or 
walrus  skins  over  a  wooden  frame,  makes  its 
ai>i)earance  along  here,  although  the  birch  canoe 
is  still  to  be  seen.  In  the  houses  of  these  people 
we  saw  sealskins  full  of  oil  laid  up  as  a  provision 
against  the  winter. 


TlIKKK-lf.VTCH    SkIX    PiOAT,    OH    BiDAUKA. 


At  a  mission  further  up  the  river  a  Russian 
])riest  of  the  (ireek  Catholic  church  had  gotten 
on  b<jard.  He  wore  the  phiin  black  gown,  full 
beard  and  kmg  hair  of  men  of  his  class,  and 
spoke  broken  English.  He  seemed  well  ac- 
quainted with  the  country,  however,  and  assured 


ill 


■■4 


Ml, 


^4» 

I 


i'i« 


i 


ij;  ^ 


202      Tl! ROUGH  THE   YUKON  GOLD  DIGGINGS. 

US  that  these  pe()i)le  were  distinct  both  from  the 
Kolchane  or  Indians,  who  were  found  all  along 
the  Yukon  above  Nulato,  and  from  the  Mahlemut 
Eskimos.  These  middle  peo[)le  he  called  Kwik- 
paks ;  but  I  am  sure  they  are  really  Eskimos, 
with  perha})s  some  peculiarities,  due  to  their 
position  on  the  border-line  of  two  races  differing 
so  greatly  as  do  the  Eskimos  and  the  Indians. 

The  same  day  we  left  the  Yukon  for  good, 
emerging  from  the  northern  or  Ap-hoon  mouth, 
(for  the  Yukon  forms  a  delta  which  spreads  out 
many  miles  and  includes  many  channels)  out  on 
the  open  sea.  We  wei-e  struck  with  the  color  of 
the  clear  green  water,  after  so  long  viewing  the 
muddy  brown  Y'ukon  or  the  clear  black  of  some 
of  its  tributaries.  Before  us  the  countrv  was 
barren,  untimbered,  and  black,  with  volcanic 
cones  rising  here  and  there.  As  we  advanced, 
low  islands  rose  out  of  the  sea  around  these 
cones, — fields  of  lava,  covered  with  swam])s  and 
ponds, — while  we  left  behind  us  the  dead  level 
untimbered  tundra  of  the  Y^ukon  delta.  AVe 
anchored  under  the  lee  of  an  island  that  night, 
and  as  usual  we  were  roused  from  our  slee})ing 
places  before  daylight  the  next  morning  by  the 


I 


THE  LOWER   YUKON. 


2();i 


cook.  The  sun  rose  glonously  from  holiind  the 
lo^v  black  volcanic  liills  and  Just  as  ^xo  uvrc  n-et- 
tin^r  an.und  to  l.roakfast  at  tim  fourtli  table"  ve 
steamed  into  St.  Michael's. 


ii'' 


m 


CHAPTER  IX. 

ST.    MICHAEL'S    AND    SAN    F  HA  NCI  SCO. 

OT.  MICHAEL'S  is  the  usual  port  lor  tlie 
^  Yukon,  tliougli  seventy  miles  from  its 
mouth.  The  Russians  had  a  fort  and  garrison  at 
this  place  before  they  sold  the  territory  to  the 
United  States,  and  since  then  the  commercial 
companies  have  had  posts  here.  The  chief  part 
of  the  po])ulation,  however,  consists  of  Eskimos. 
These  people  are  very  expert  in  carving. 
From  stone  they  make  axes,  lam])s,  skin-scrapcrs 
and  many  other  im[)lements ;  and  from  hone,  and 
esi)ecially  from  the  wali'us  and  mammoth  ivory, 
they  carve  many  things,  among  them  ])olished 
pipes.  These  pipes  are  evidently  modelled  after 
the  opium  pipes  of  the  East,  with  a  peculiar 
shaped  bowl  having  only  a  very  small  cavity  in 
it,  and  a  long  stem.  They  are  ornamented  with 
many  figures  scratched  on  the  ivory  with  a  sharp 
knife,  and  then  colored  by  having  charcoal  and 
grease  rubbed  into  the  scratches ;  these  figures, 


r 


ST.    MICUAEUS  AND  SAN  FRANCJSCO.         2(5.-) 

of  which  thei'o  in.ay  be  several  hundred  on  a 
single  i)ii)e,  represent  the  Eskimo  in  his  daily  oc- 
cupations, especially  his  huntin<^-  of  deer,  wolf, 
and  whale,  his  dancing  in  the  hn.sli'nn,  or  his 
travelling  in  his  kayak. 

Strolling  around  the  village,  and  peering  into 


P^sKiMo  Houses  at  St.  Muhakl's. 


the  haraharrcii^^  or  private  houses,  I  I'an  across  an 
old  savage  who  was  handling  an  object  which 
immediately  attracted  my  attention;  when  he 
saw  mv  curiositv  he  explained  1)V  si^ns  tiiat  it 
was  an  apparatus  for  making  tire,  and  at  my  re- 
quest he  actually   performed   the  feat.     It  was 


''is 


k 


;>(»;    Tiinovaii  nil':  yikun  hold  inaaixas. 

tlic  old  plan  of  nii)l)iii«^  two  sticks  of  wood  to- 
gether, sucli  as  wo  huvcf  often  read  tiiat  savages 
do;  vet  I  liiid  never  known  iiny  one  who  knew 
exactly  how  it  was  done:,  although  as  a  hov  1  had 
often  worn  myself  out  in  vain  emleavors  to  make 


ill 

lit 


t-:i> 


t 


\$ 


A  Nativr  DooinvAV. 

lire  in  this  way.  So  far  as  I  know,  no  one  had 
ever  satisfactorily  explained  how  the  Alaskan 
natives  get  their  lire,  one  writer  having  even 
supjmsed  that  they  brought  it  from  volcanoes  in 
the  first  place;  and  from  the  extraordinary  care 
which  they  take  in  preserving  hot  coals  and 
often  in  carrying  them   consi«lerabie   distance?., 


ST.   MICIIAKL'S  AND  SAN  FliANCISVO.         myI 

ono  (loos  not  often  see  them  in  tlie  process  of  ob- 
taining- a  new  supply. 

Tiie   jippai\M,tus   which    I  saw    here    used    was 
simple  and  ingenious.     In  a  tlioroughly  dry  stick 
of  spruce  were  cut  a  number  of  little  grooves,— 
this  was  the  wood  destined  to  catch  iii-e.     Tht 
other  piece  of  wood  was  a  rounded  stick  of  some 
.   very  hard   variety,  which  the  Eskimo  told  me 
was  picked  up  in  the  driftwood  along  the  shore ; 
it  was  very  likely  a  foreign  wood.     The  point  of 
the  hard  stick  was  set  upright  in  one  of  thegrooves 
of  the  soft  dry  piece  and  by  means  of  a  leather 
thong  was  made  to  revolve  rapidly  in  it,  the  hard 
ui)right  piece    being   kept    in   place   by  a  stone 
socket  set  in  a  i)iece  of  wood,  which  was  held  in 
the  mouth  of  the   operator.      After  vigorouslv 
twirling   the   stick  by  means  of  the  thong   Uw 
about  a  minute  the  soft  wood  began  to  smoke ;  a 
nioment   afterwards   a   faint   spark   was  visilile. 
Tiien  the  Eskimo  stopped  revolving  the  stick  and 
heaping  all  the  fine  dust  of  the  soft  wood  which 
had  been  worn  off  by  the  grinding  on  the  spark, 
and  blew  it  carefully  till  it  grew  to  larger  dimen- 
sions ;  then  he  placed  a  bh.de  of  dry  grass  on  the 
spark,  and,  blowing  again,  it  bui-st   into   flame. 


Ill 

li    <" 

■ 

■* 

1 

ii;: 

1    ' 

1  = 

1 

111 

!•■'■■ 

li. 

te 

ii 

m 


u; 


'iiii: 


f 


•■1 


. ,  1 


pi': 
1^: 


aOH      THROIUII   Till::    YUKON  GOLD  DIGGINGS. 

Tlie  whole  process  hud  lasted  about  tJirce 
minutes.  The  old  man  explained  also  that  in 
boring  the  holes  in  stone,  bone  or  ivory,  they 
used  the  same  device,  employing  a  stone  drill  in- 
stead of  the  wooden  stick. 

There  was  great  commotion  among  the  natives 
at  !St.  Michael's  the  moriiiug  after  we  arrived, 
and  the  men  all  dragged  tueir  kayaks  into  the 
water  and  getting  into  cheni  paddled  out  into 
the  harbor,  where  a  ruunber  of  small  whales 
were  seen  disporting  themselves.  When  they 
neared  the  school  the  men  separated,  and  when  i., 
whale  would  sound  they  spread  themselves  out 
so  as  'o  be  nearly  at  the  spot  where  he  snould 
come  up.  Each  num  \\\\'\  sevo»*al  of  the  light 
spears  they  us.hI  for  capturing  fisli ;  these  weap- 
ons are  ])erhaps  three  and  a  half  feet  long,  and 
weigh  about  a  ])ourd,  the  shaft  being  slender 
and  of  light  wood  and  the  cij)  of  a  barbed  piece 
of  bone.  To  each  of  these  they  had  fastened  by 
a  long  thong,  as  they  were  paddling  out,  a 
blown-up  l»hukler.  As  soon  as  a  whale  rose  the 
Eskimo  wiio  iia))pened  to  be  near  sent  his  little 
s])ear  v,  itli  great  force  deeply  into  its  f^esh.  The 
wound  was  of  course  insignificant,  and  the  ani- 


■  nil  iiui"'>»%i^w|y  ■ 


ST.   MICHAEL'S  AND  SAN  FliANCLSCO 


2(5!) 


null,    taking  alann,  sank  into  the  water  again  ; 
but  when  alter  some  time  lie  was  forced  to  re- 
turn   to    the    surface,   lie    encountered    several 
hunters  again,  and  received  several  more  spears 
with  attached  bladders.     This  time  the  buoyancy 
of  the  bladders  made  it  dilllcult  for  him  to  sink, 
and   he  rose  soon  afterwards,  only  to  be  iiUed 
with  so  numy  spears  that  the  bladders  kept  him 
from  sinking  at  all;  then  the  natives  drew  near 
and  with  all  kinds  of  weapons  cut  and  slashed 
and  ^vorried  the  creature  till  he  finally  gave  ui) 
from   loss   of   blood,   and  died.      Then   he    was 
towed  ashore  amid  great  excitement  and   with 
rejoicing,  not  only   by  the  hunters,  but  by  the 
women,  children  and  old  men  who  flocked  down 
to  the  beach  as  it  came  in. 

The  next  thing  was  to  cut  up  and  d'vide  the 
carcass,  ar.d  this  was  done  thoroughly,  every- 
body in  t)ie  s'Ahgo  coming  in  for  a  shar-.  Noth- 
ing ".as  wasted.  Even  the  blood  was  carefully 
saved  and  divided,  and  the  sinews  were  given  to 
the  women,  uim  wonhl  dry  and  make  th^em  into 
threads  for  sewing.  Soon  all  the  fires  in  th<>  vil- 
lage were  burning,  and  the  smell  of  boiling 
whale-flesh  came  from  many    pots,   into   which 


:no      THROUGH  THE   YUKON  GOLD  DIGGINGS. 


L:  -f 


i  ! 


the  women  peered  expectantly.  One  old  liuly 
whom  I  noticed  doing"  this  showed  in  her  dress 
some  of  the  ell'ects  of  civilization,  which  is  a  nn-e 
thing  with  the  Eskimo,  as  they  dress  by  prefer- 
ence in  their  squirrel  or  nmskrat-skin  park'as ; 
her  flowing'  garment  was  made  of  flour-sacks 
sewn  together,  and  one  might  read  the  legend, 
inscribed  many  times  and  standing  in  many  atti- 
tudes, that  the  wearer  ([)resumal)ly)  was  Anchor 
Jh-and. 

St.  MichaePs  is  made  up  of  volcanic  rock,  and 
has  been  lifted  from  the  sea  in  recent  geologic 
times.  The  natives  know  this,  and  say  that  they 
And  lines  of  driftwood  nuirking  the  ancient  limit 
of  the  waves,  at  places  far  above  wiiere  the 
highest  water  now  reaches;  on  the  other  hand, 
they  say  that  the  island  has  been  thrice  sub- 
merged since  the  memory  of  man.  Out  of  the 
general  swampy  level  of  the  land  <^''ound  the 
village  rise,  further  back,  broken  cones  with  old 
craters  at  theii*  tops;  these  were  very  likely  under 
the  level  of  the  sea  when  they  w  "e  active.  We 
had  time  to  s|)ei]d  a  few  days  wandering  over 
this  country,  climbing  through  the  rocky  craters, 
and    looking   down    on    the   numberless   swamp 


I 

: 


N«-4 


\ 

1 


f 


mi 


17. 
1  ,      't 

I  '  '  '' 

Ir.J 


.1'' 


272      TlIHOnni   THE    YUKON  GOLD   DIOUIMIS. 

lakes  which  cover  the  southeast  side  of  the 
islcincl.  One  clay,  however,  we  received  siuklen 
Avord  that  the  steamer  on  which  we  had  eniiafjed 
})assage  was  about  to  sail,  and  we  hurried  on 
board.  That  ni<'ht  we  were  far  out  on  Beliring 
Sea,  tossing  in  a  strong  wind  which  soon  increased 
to  a  terrific  gale. 

AVe  lav  several  davs"hove  to"  in  tliis  mde, 
witli  oil  casks  over  the  bows  to  brenk  the  great 
waves  "which  threatened  more  than  once  to 
smash  us  and  often  seemed  about  to  roll  us  over 
and  over.  Finally,  however,  it  quieted  enough 
to  let  the  seasick  ones  drop  asleep,  while  tlie 
sailors  made  things  taut  again,  and  before  long 
we  were  in  harbor  at  the  island  of  Unalaska 
— one  of  the  great  chain  of  Aleutian  islands 
which  reaches  from  America  to  Asia,  and  the 
chief  stopping  point  for  nearly  all  boats  between 
the  Yukon  niuath  and  the  coast  of  the  United 
States  proper.  Unalaska  is  a  country  of  chaoti- 
cally Avild  scenery.  The  streams  in  turn  meander 
over  level  benches  and  then  tumble  in  waterfalls 
over  steep  cliffs  tc  the  next  bench,  and  so  on  till 
they  reach  the  sea;  such  a  cataract  we  saw  on 
the  right  as  we  entered  the  harbor. 


■  , . 


•  i 


t^ 


ST.    MICIIAICL'S  AND  SAN  FRANCISCO.  273 

In  the  vilhige  here  we  found  the  Aleuts  semi- 
civilized  from  their  long  contact  with  white  men, 
for  here  the  Kussians  held  direct  control  long- 
before  the  territory  ^vas  sokl  to  the  United 
States  ;  they  live  in  neat  wooden  houses,  and  if 
one  peeps  in  by  night  he  may  even  see  here  and 
there  lace  curtains  and  rocking-chairs. 

Seventeen  days  after  leaving  St.  .Michael's  we 
finally  reached  San  Francisco.     It  was  a  clear, 
fine  Sunday  when  we  passed  through  the  ^Jolden 
Gate,  tingling  with   excitement   which  we  had 
felt  since  seeing  the  first  land  on  the  California 
coast.     The  sight  of  the  multitude  of  houses  on 
the  hillside,  the  smoke  of  the  city,  the  craft  of 
all  kinds  going  back  and  forth,  had  iu  it  some- 
thing very  strange  and  discomposing  for  us.     It 
was  only  when  the  ship  was  at  the  dock,  and  we 
had  gone  ashore,  that  we  realized,  from  the  way 
the  curious  crowd  formed  a  circle  around  us  and 
stared  in  open-mouthed  wonder,  that  our  ai)pear- 
ance  was  unusual  for  a  city.     We  had  not  taken 
much  baggage  through  the  Yukon  country,  and 
our  camp  clothes  wei-e  very  shabby.     Kone  of  us 
had    lii.d   ojiportunity   to    have  hnir   and   beard 
trimmed  since  we  left     with  the  result  that  we 


.iWf  <U  I  ■•W'lIlflWfffl- 


y?!      TIUiOUGH   THE    YUKON  GOLD    DIGaiXGS. 


u 


l, .,, 


I' 


M  , 


n  ■ 


liiid  a  niano  reacliing  to  tlie  shoulders  and  fierce 
bushy  buccaneer  wliiskers,  inches  deep  all  around. 
Two  of  us  wore  ancient  higli  ksather  boots  and 
tlie  third  wore  a  kind  of  moccasin.  We  all  had 
heavy  "  mackinaw "  trousers  of  blanket-ch)tli, 
witli  belted  coats  of  the  same  material,  while 
coarse  flannel  shirts  and  dilapidated  felt  hats, 
burned  with  the  sparks  of  many  a  <;amp-lire  and 
seamed  with  the  creases  of  many  a  night's  sleep, 
com})leted  our  costume. 

Finding  the  attention  of  the  crowd  embarrass- 
ing, we  took  a  carriage  for  the  Grand  Hotel,  and 
as  we  were  driving  through  the  streets  1  noticed 
that  if  one  so  much  as  caught  a  glimpse  of  our 
faces  through  the  carriage  v/indow,  he  would 
turn  and  stare  after  the  cab  till  it  was  out  of 
sight.  It  was  Sunday  afternoon,  and  the  streets 
were  tilletl  with  smartly  dressed  men  and  women. 
For  our  part,  the  sight  of  all  this  correct  and  con- 
ventional dressing  made  a  disagreeable  impression 
on  us,  after  so  long  a  period  of  free  and  easy  life ; 
the  white  collars  ami  cuffs  of  the  men,  in  ])ar- 
ticular,  obtruded  themselves  on  my  attention  and 
irritated  me. 

We  had  left  our  "store  clothes"  in  Seattle  and 


I  1 


- 


\ 


r  i 


'ST.    MIVHAEUS  AM)  SAN   FliAXClSCO.  075 

had  to  teleorapli  to  «et  tlicm.     It  took  a  couple 
of  (lays  I'or  this,  and  in  the  nieantinio  we  lind 
onJy  to  wait.     We  had  been  iookin-  forward  to 
going-  to  the  theatre  as  soon  as  we  should  arrive 
in  fcSan    Francisco,  and  wlien  our  clothes  did  not 
arrive,    were     disa|)i)ointed,    till    we    sudchMdy 
braced  up  in  defiance  of  the  wliole  city,  and  said, 
"Let's  go  anyhow."     We  had   not  had  time  to 
get  our  hair  and  beard  trimmed,  ano  our  costume 
was  in  all  respects  the  same  as   when   we  left 
Circle   City,    but    we   sallied    out  bravely.     We 
were  late  at  the  theatre,  and  the  play  had  already 
begun  ;  it  was  a  popular  one,  and  the  only  seats 
left  were  some  in  the  "  bald-headed  "  row.' 

Althouoh  we  had  by  this  time  the  idea  forced 
on  us  that  our  api)earance  was  unusual,  we  were 
hy  no  means  prepared  for  the  commotion  which 
u-e  brought  al)out,  as  we  walked  up  the  bi-oad 
aisle    to   our   seats.      There    was  a  hum  and   a 
sizzle  of  whispers   throughout  the  house,  which 
changed  to  laughter  and  exclamations  ;  and  the 
actors  on   the   stage,  catching   sight  of   us,  got 
"rattled"  and  forgot  to  go  ou.     ['p  in  the  \k^ix- 
nut  galleiT  the  gods  began  to  indulge  in  catcalls 
and  make  i)ersonal  iiKpiiries.     AVe  huri'ied  to  our 


M 


!l 


111  ^' 

::; 


!■ 


f.1 


•27(5      TllliOUUII    Tilt:   YUKON  UOLI)   DlCiaiNGS 

seats  to  escape  this  storm,  and  meeting  an  usher 
thrust  our  ticlcets  into  his  hand,  lie  looked  at 
us  with  a  puzzled  air  and  a  broad  grin,  as  if  he 
tiiought  it  all  some  huge  joke,  but  we  were  get- 
ting nervous,  and  gave  him  a  glare  which  made 
him  indicate  our  seats  for  us.  The  audience 
evidently  believed  we  were  part  of  the  show  ; 
many  were  standing  by  this  time,  waiting  to  see 
what  the  next  would  be,  but  after  a  while  the 
buzz  subsided  and  the  play  went  on.  There  was 
a  constant  current  of  conversation  about  us,  how- 
ever ;  behind  us  a  young  fellow  was  excitedly 
asking  his  companion  "  Who  are  they,  who  are 
they?"  "Don't  know,"  said  the  other.  "Sail- 
ors, 1  guess." 

After  a  while  we  felt  like  returning  to  the 
solitude  of  our  hotel  rooms;  the  play,  too,  did 
not  please  us,  so  in  the  middle  of  an  act  we  got 
up,  and  having  remarked  very  audibly  "  Dis  is 
a  rotten  show,"  we  went.  As  we  started  down 
the  aisle  the  commotion  grew  louder  than  ever, 
and  we  slipped  quickly  out  and  down  a  side 
street. 


f}\' 


FINIS. 


. 


